The Strangers
by Travis Church
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless encounter two strangers out on a mission to stop the unknown Rage. What is it? Where is it? Will they join the crusade? Can they stop it in time? Is time even on their side? One can only hope...
1. The First Encounter

**Disclaimer: The Characters of How To Train Your Dragon belong to Dreamworks**

**Everything else is by Travis Church**

* * *

The moon hangs above a black blanket never inching closer or farther away from mankind's domain. The winds drifting from the North caress the blanket, forming folds and contours in the dark material. All life sleeps.

But a single figure floats on the blanket following the moon to some unknown world. Crafted with sand-colored wood, the vessel parts the bedspread with ease and above the hull sits a cabin made of bronze. And on all four walls, windows molded in, yellow silk hangs.

As a breeze pushes the drapery into the cabin, lavender incense rushes about the small room and two figures, one young and one old, awaken feeling the cold sea air brush their skin.

"Oh, Deus, where are we?" The young man asks drowsily.

Looking out the window from his sitting cushion, the older man says doubtfully, "east of the Prime Meridian."

"How east?"

Shifting his gaze from one constellation he states, "roughly five degrees."

"Only five! At this rate we won't-"

"Calm yourself, we will find the Rage soon. Time is on our side." He says standing from the cotton cushion to look out the window.

"How? It can be in any city, any nation, any sea, any continent, or any world for that!"

"Are you a man of faith?"

"No, of course not."

"Then now is an excellent time to become one. You and I both know that the Rage is somewhere North the "Insula ut Vir"

"Which translates loosely to 'Isle of Man'. But that does not change..."

"Have faith, even the blind find their way. So what we need is a guide."

"Do you believe that we will find one here? In this wasteland of humanity?"

"I have faith that we shall."

* * *

A few days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death sits a tiny island. Located on the Meridian of Misery this village is sturdy in its tradition and people. But in seven generations, much has changed. Some see a new marketplace, or a new set of books, but this tiny island saw a greater change. This island is Berk.

To say Berk was a different place was to say an iceberg is cold; a massive understatement. Everything from the way the buildings were built to the way children played outside changed. It seemed that even the direction of the sun and moon traveled shifted with the end of the "dragon war."

Perhaps the greatest change was the one that was walking down the street at midday, a boy with a prosthetic limb and a black dragon with a prosthetic tail. Hiccup and Toothless. Boy and beast, friend and ally, hero and savior. Out of place, they made their own place in history. Both ended the "dragon war" and in the aftermath they forged an era of peace. They changed alongside the people of Berk gaining new hobbies, friendships, and even loves. With the death of the Green Death came the death of the old hatred of dragons. It was an "enlightenment" to say the least. The people of Berk became less violent (for Vikings), more relaxed, and open to ideas that defied their previous way of life. It was a change for the better. Even his father's attitude changed for the better.

Immediately after the war, Hiccup began to have strange nightmares about the Green Death. He would fall far into the depths of the volcano and be unharmed. He would imagine a labyrinth underneath the volcano and wander the underground maze for what felt like days. But when he could escape the burning heat of the catacombs, the first thing brought him to his knees, Berk would be ablaze. The smell of flesh, the sight of the forest on fire, and the heat! The Gods awful heat, it was inhuman in the way it burned with some otherworldly rage. It was all to real for Hiccup, Gods knew how vivid these night terrors were.

When he would scramble out of his bed and scream at the top of his lungs, Toothless and Stoic would rush to his side to calm him down. It was refreshing to know both his dragon and his father were comforting him in those desperate and fearful nights.

But Vikings would still be Vikings…

"Stoic!" Gobber yelled limping up the street, "ah ship! There's ah ship comin' up the Eastern beach!"

"What!" Stoic roared behind Hiccup and Toothless.

"Ah ship! An' ah weak one by 'a looks of it!"

"Get to the shore!"

As Hiccup and Toothless moved down the hills of Berk they saw a tiny vessel moving north, which would be moving left to right where they were standing. But as they continued down the path, the vessel made a hard turn and pointed towards the shores of the island. The sound of women ushering children into houses died away, replaced by the sound of rushed footsteps. A mass of armed Vikings passed Hiccup and Toothless and made a phalanx-esque formation at the shore.

The boat floated towards the shoreline; the sand colored ship inched forward while the box shaped cabin caused it to bob back and forth. Hiccup and Toothless tried to push through the mob of armed Vikings while smelling an unfamiliar burning plant. When the craft finally pushed itself on the shore there was a strange rumbling coming from the cabin. Shadowy figures rushed around behind a shimmering fabric yelling and whispering in two alien languages.

Then the shouting and whispering suddenly stopped and the group raised their weapons to attack.

"أهلا, تحيات أبناء الشعب!" an aged man cried out as he burst from the cabin.

A collective murmur of confusion resonated throughout the crowd before a younger man yelled from the cabin, "Quis es vos effectus?"

"الموت أحي يرجى السكان معي أنها تبدو بالغة نوع!" The old man said as the younger man jumped in front to protect the elder.

"Ego sciso vos revert ut navis pro illa populous non existo vultus mitis!" He cried to the older man.

"What do ya think they're sayin?" Gobber whispered to Stoic.

"It sounds too complicated for any mortal man, so must be some demon language."

"إنني أشك أنهم يفهمون علينا دعني أحاول أن يتحقق السلام مع هؤلاء السكان, ووقف يتصرف وكأن وأنا أحد الأطفال وأنا القديمة بما فيه الكفاية ليكون لكم ابراهيم!" The old man spoke and stumbled down the boat to be only a few feet from the suspicious Vikings. "أنا ابن خلدون الياس تحيات مدينة صافي في ارض المغرب وأقدم سنحقق السلام والتبادل التجاري للبضائع المسالمين في مكان لا تتكلم لا اغضب صديقي الموت إلا انه يحاول احياء المحافظة مني."

"Toothless, you don't mind if I …?" Toothless understood Hiccup's incomplete message and gave an affirmative rumble. He lowered his body to the ground and Hiccup climbed up while Toothless stood upwards so he could see above the crowd. Both saw a very old man wearing a large red robe attempting to regain his footing on the sand. Stable, he fished underneath the robe and pulled out a package the size of a human head wrapped in paper. The Vikings again raised their weapons to the old man but he unwrapped the package unalarmed and took a conch shell from the shredded remains. He moved his long white beard out of the way and cradled it under his chin.

They all prepared for the worst as the elder puffed his wrinkly cheeks and blew through the shell. Then a blast of voices of all ages, genders, and accents spread out from the shell and everyone dropped their weapons and shields to grip their ears.

"Hello!" An old voice in Berk's natural language came from the direction of the old man in front of them. "I sincerely apologize for that, magic has a strange way of working; I am very sure you all know that."

"What in Odin's…?" Stoic whispered as he watched the old man continue to motion with his old lips while no sound left.

"Oh yes, introductions I do apologize. I am Ilias Ibn Khaldun al Safi and this is my accompaniment Decessus. Would you like to trade?" The old man asked with a toothy grin and a sparkle in his black eyes while the younger man still on the boat began to rub his temples in irritation.

* * *

"Well? Is it something on my…" Ilias asked while looking around his robe. "Is it my Thawb, I apologize, my robe? Is it a color that you find offensive to your political alliance because I can change out of this red one and into a yellow or white one. For example I know of the Reds versus the Blues in-"

"Ilias! Get over here!" the one named Decessus cried out to the elder.

"Calm yourself, they would not strike a visitor or a tradesman for that matter! I am Ilias Ibn Khaldun al Safi, tradesman and naval explorer of the Abbasid Empire! And this is Decessus, not a member of the Abbasid Empire but more of a mercenary who is so kind as to accompany me in the expedition. I have been sent to find exotic lands and worlds so we may establish peace between my world and yours through the act of trade and exchange. Speaking of which, Decessus please bring me the sampler's crate!"

"But!"

"Do not let these good people wait because of your defiance, bring the crate!" Decessus grumbled off a few words in what sounded Latin and marched into the cabin. "You understand how the young are so rebellious. Do you have children…err…"he rambled as he tried to find some sort of symbol or something on Stoic's armor that could give him a clue about who he was.

"I am Stoic the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligans, and yes I have a child, a son. Hiccup!"

Ilias wrapped his lips to form the word in Arabic but it came out as, "Glove?" and, "Hic-cough?"

The crowd parted into two revealing both Hiccup still straddling Toothless's body. Feeling the awkward stares, Toothless lowered him down to the Earth and both began to approach Stoic's side. "This is my son, Hiccup." Stoic eyed him and patted him, which was more of a slap, on his back and said, "Well? Introduce yourself son!"

Sighing Hiccup tiredly said, "I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, son of Stoic the Vast, leader of the mighty Hairy Hooligans. Can I go now?"

"Well, he looks like a very brave and intelligent boy. I wish you fortune, prosperity, and fertility Hic-cough Horrible Haddock the Third son of Stoic the Vast, leader of the mighty Hairy Hooligans." When Ilias finished the lengthy introduction, Decessus approached the bow of the ship with a large rectangular crate made of wood. He then gently let it down on the bow and watched Ilias and the Vikings watch him.

"What?"

"The crate Decessus if you would be so kind." Decessus then lifted the box up above the edge of the boat and unceremoniously threw it in the general direction of Ilias. Luckily it fell a few inches from his feet. "Thank you Decessus!"

"This crate, members of the Hairy Hooligans, is a small survey of the wares that I have to offer. Well let us see here," Ilias said as he rummaged through the crate with one hand while holding the shell in one hand, "we of the Abbasid Empire have many trade goods that are worth fortunes in distant lands. For example, is what you are wearing sheep's wool Hic-cough?"

"Ehh, yeah?" He responded, unsure of where this conversation would lead.

"Well we have something better than wool, it is called cotton!" He cried out valiantly holding a cotton boll in his wrinkly hand far from his face. "It is much stronger than wool and is much easier to produce as it originates from a plant! Very effective if you live in…a hot climate. Does this place get very cold?"

"Frequently" Hiccup answered.

"Never mind then." He said as he dropped the boll into the crate. "Perhaps you would be interested in the simple beauty that is," he trailed off while exploring in the crate, "calculus!" He cried out holding a scroll and some sort of wooden board with strings attached in his free hand.

"What?" Stoic asked.

"Yes! Watch, take this board" Ilias said as he threw the board in the direction of Hiccup, "and use the strings with the pegs to make a triangle! Make sure two sides follow the direction of the end pieces and the other goes from one corner to the other corner." Ilias finished. "When you are done count how many parts of the string are separated with knots, show everyone, and do not tell me."

"Okay," Hiccup said finishing and holding up the plank.

"Now tell me how many parts ascend the board and move alongside the panel."

"Five going up and twelve going to the right."

"Do thirteen parts make up the slanted side of the triangle?"

"He be a witch!" A voice screeched from the mob.

"It is not magic citizens! It is the Pythagorean Theorem! For the glory of calculus allows me to know any side of a triangle, so long as it makes a right angle. Well actually it is the glory of geometry, the foundations of calculus but it looks that you are all at unease by my arithmetic. Perhaps you would be more interested in this?" He said as he dropped the scroll back into the crate. "Are you all aware of the sleeping sickness?"

"The what?" A different voice asked from inside the crowd.

"Some physicians would say that sleep is a sickness because there are symptoms that are connected to it."

"Then that means we're all infected with sleep!" Another person shouted from the crowd.

"No! No! Sleep is a beautiful and inevitable part of humanity. But drowsiness and fatigue are unfortunate effects that precede sleep. But imagine a plant that can defeat those ills? I give you the coffee bean!" He then raised a handful of dark brown beans above his head and began to move forward.

The mob instinctively prepared to take their weapons out of their hilts and positioned for conflict. But he simply stepped forward and extended his beans.

"Try one! It has an odd buzzing feel to it when you bite into it. And what you would feel is not the shell breaking in your mouth it is the elements inside the bean flooding your body instantly and filling it with new life!" Ilias then began to peddle the beans to every person he could see but each person backed away until only Hiccup was left.

"Go ahead young Hic-cough! Try it!" Suspiciously Hiccup extended his arm and picked up a single bean. He sniffed it and began to feel the smoothness of the coffee bean. Carefully, he put it on his tongue and crushed it in his mouth.

"Ehg!" Everyone unsheathed their weapons and closed in to protect the boy as soon as they heard his cry of disgust. "This is-!"

"Bitter? I have something just for that!" Ilias then placed the beans in a hidden pocket in his robe and ran back to the crate to rummage again. He triumphantly pulled out a little white pouch with a string. Unwrapping the purse, white pieces of gravel poured into his hand. "This" he said as he approached the mob all while ignoring the newly armed Vikings, "is what the Indian people call _sharkara_ or sugar. It the purest form of sweetness, stronger and much easier to incorporate into dishes than honey. Try some Hic-cough. It will ease the bitterness of the coffee."

Hiccup stepped out from the phalanx and approached Ilias. He took a pinch of the grains from the elder's hand and poured it into his mouth. His eyebrows raised and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "Wow, that's just. Wow. Can I have more?"

"Of course!" Ilias said jubilantly. "It is wonderful to see such youth be interested in the market trade and outside cultures!" He pulled out the beans from his robe and handed the pouch and pile to Hiccup. "See the coffee bean originated in the Kingdom of Aksum where then Sufi mystic Ghothul Akbar Nooruddin Abu al-Hassan al-Shadhili utilized the plant-"

"Ilias! Can we speak?"Decessus interrupted the elder's lecture, still standing on the bow of the ship.

"Of course, will you all give me a moment? I apologize sincerely." He said walking backwards from his original position.

When Ilias was within a few feet of the boat, Decessus began to reprimand the elder by saying, "Ilias, we don't have time for this. We need to find the Rage before-"

"Oh do not worry." Ilias stopped him mid sentence. "I am certain that these fine people will guide us to the Tragedy. And see! Dragons! We must be near the cursed thing. With the combined ingenuity of humanity and the eternal wisdom of the Dragons, they must have clearly mapped out the upper seas. And look at them;" Ilias said as he gestured over to the crowd, "do they not appear to be excellent navigators?"

As he said that Decessus looked over to see Snoutlout take what looked like ten beans from Hiccup and gnash it violently in his mouth. But his face crumpled into a grimace and he hacked out an ugly dark brown mess onto the sand and feinted to the ground.

"See?" Ilias proclaimed unable to see what unfortunately happened to Snoutlout. "Excellent navigators."

"Ilias, never have I doubted your judgment more than now."

"Umm, excuse me Ilias?" Hiccup called out, "Do you have any more of that sugar stuff?"

"Not in that crate I believe," he said walking away from the vessel. "But anyhow, Stoic the Vast, are you doubtful of our intentions?"

"Hmm?" He murmured as he finished licking his lips of the sugar grains. "Oh yes, there is no doubt that you are indeed a trader who has come to sell his wares and things. But the other one," he said looking to Decessus, "I'm not so sure of."

"Well come along Decessus aid me in greeting the people. They offer peace!"

"I doubt that" The man named Decessus then jumped down from the boat and landed on the shore as if he were a lion ready to pounce. Dusting off his black tunic he rose and subconsciously prepared to pull out the dagger that he hid. But realizing that he was in peaceful company, he let down his arms and walked over to Ilias, who now stood in front of the crowd. Once as he was by his side, he stood at attention with an emotionless visage.

"Please let me introduce Decessus. He is from what was Greece, was then Rome, and now is Byzantine. But do not let that disturb you; he is still very much a Greek."

"Hello," Stoic said approaching the duo.

"Well?" Ilias whispered, "go greet him properly! Give him a good hand shake!"

The two eyed each other suspiciously and as Stoic extended a meaty limb Decessus stretched out his own pale arm. The two clasped hands and while Stoic exerted an unusually large amount of pressure, Decessus met with an equal amount of force from his pale hand.

Surprised, Stoic released his own hand and said, "a strong one for being so young! How old are you twenty, twenty two?"

"Nineteen." He flatly replied, "and thanks." He walked back while rubbing his shaven head, which had been cleanly cut of all hair, and returned to attention. What skin everyone could see was pale and free of cuts, bruses, or scars.

But Hiccup noticed something off, his eyes were a dull grey. The grey of early morning fog, the grey of dull hair, the grey of thick smoke. Something bothered him but he couldn't tell what precisely. Toothless sensed the tension building in Hiccup and gently nuzzled his body. Gently smiling and repaying the gesture with a light scratching about his head, he put the idea in the back of his mind and continued to watch on.

"Please forgive me, what is the name of this island?" Ilias asked to the crowd.

"BERK!" Some random Viking responded in a deep gutted yell.

"Thank you! Citizens and inhabitants of BERK!" Ilias yelled out trying to imitate the guttural roar he previously heard, only coming out as a hoarse shout. Decessus then dropped his head and began to massage his temples in embarrassment and irritation.

"Will you grant us permission to trade with your people?" Ilias asked to the crowd.

Stoic stepped forward and said, "As chieftain of this village, I give you that right."

"Thank you Stoic the Vast." Then Decessus stopped his massaging and whispered some Latin into Ilias' ear. "Excuse me, do you have lodging that we may borrow? We do not wish to sleep inside our boat for another night, it is very small mind you, and we would gladly pay for it in," again he whispered in his ear, "Sugar? Yes! We shall pay in sugar."

Never has Hiccup been an impulsive person but something changed that very moment pushed him to become an irrational, impulsive, and senseless Viking. "Yes!" Hiccup cried out before realizing what he just said. Blushing he continued to say, "I mean, we Vikings of Berk accept your offer and would gladly give you somewhere to stay."

"Where shall we stay? And who owns that land so we may pay that person when we take lodging?"

Again the impulsive creature that lived in his mind ran past his brain and to his mouth, forcing him to say, "You can stay at my house!"

"What?" Snoutlout said as he reeled out of his headache.

Toothless rumbled in confusion.

"What!" Stoic boomed at his son.

"Yeah Dad it's…the Chief's responsibility to take care of any guest...and…stuff," he finished babbling. But he pulled in closer and stood on his toes to be as close as possible to his father's ear and whispered, "And we get the sugar!" He stood down from his father and watched him begin to assess the situation.

"Then I, along with my son, shall gladly provide you with a room for both of you. Follow me and we shall talk more of your other trade goods."

"Excellent!" Ilias beamed with glittering black eyes full of excitement. "May we receive some assistance with our luggage?"

"Of course, anything for our," he paused to look at Hiccup, "guests." Hiccup then felt a twinge of guilt for letting strangers into their home without control or thought. But the prospect of the sweet grains quickly washed away the sour emotion.

"See Decessus?" Ilias craned his head over to the younger man, "peaceful and hospitable."

"But will peace help us find the Rage?" Decessus whispered from the corner of his mouth.

"Oh do not ruin the moment," Ilias chided, "we have such kind people to trade and give us temporary lodging so we do not have to sleep in the cabin." He paused then resumed in a deeper and more aggressive tone, "Again." He resumed the previous joyous tone to continue, "So find the luggage and give them to the nice citizenry. Unless you want to sleep on the boat while I have a sleeping cushion, pillow, blanket, and stable ground?"

Grumbling, Decessus marched to the vessel, climbed up, and stepped into the cabin. It was seconds before he exited with large bags on his back and tossed them on shore. He returned to the cabin and took two rectangular crates, both on his shoulders and let them rest on the bow of the ship.

"Can I get some help over here?" Decessus called out and in response about five Vikings all stepped forward to take the bags and crates. When two Vikings were left he gestured them to the boat and carefully lowered one box into a Viking's arms and the other into the second Viking's arms. When he finished he walked over to the door of the cabin. He closed the bronze door, took an ornate gold key to lock it, and whispered something as he locked it.

Finished, he jumped down and marched over to Ilias and awaited his lead.

"Follow us," Stoic gestured with his arm, "and we shall give you the tour of our village," pausing before he with pridefully said, "Berk."

**A/N: So begins The Strangers! This is going to be my main focus until I get it done like a good writer unless I need to write something that is buggin the crap out of me and I need to get it out of my brain. **

**Rate, review, and give me your thoughts!**


	2. The First Words

**Disclaimer: HTTYD and its repsective characters does not belong to me**

**All other characthers are indeed property of the author**

"This is a wonderful village!" Ilias cried out, "Do you not agree Decessus?"

After finishing what felt like the fiftieth set of stairs in Berk; he glared at Ilias and replied, "No."

The duet followed Stoic, Hiccup and Toothless up the village and the group began to wander through every possible alleyway and corner to receive the "tour." The group stopped for little quips about the family that lived inside the house, how many (if any) dragons have been slain by the family, and the occasional question from Ilias.

"You said that there have been seven generations in these houses?" Ilias asked tapping a cottage wall with his finger.

"Yes, that is true." Stoic replied.

"Then why do these buildings look newly constructed?" He asked sneaking a finger behind his turban to scratch his scalp.

"Ever since our ancestors settled here, we had been at war with the dragons."

"And yet your son is at peace with one?" Decessus skeptically asked.

"But my boy and his dragon brought us to the heart of the war: a massive beast called the Green Death that commanded the other wild dragons into pillaging our livestock and destroying our tribe. Have you seen a volcano before?"

"Yes, many times." Decessus responded before Ilias could conjure up some tale of exploring the Aegean Sea.

"Imagine a dragon," Stoic paused to relive the day he first saw the Green Death, "that can fit inside a volcano as if it were a shell."

"That's…massive," He said in awe.

"But Hiccup here," taking his son's shoulder and shaking him, "killed the beast!"

"That is amazing!" Ilias joyously shouted, flailing his arms while still cradling the mystic shell. "I cannot wait to tell the Caliphate that I had the honor of meeting a Chieftain whose son slain such a horrific beast! What a tale! We only have a thousand, and a repeat of the first, tales that have now become worn, dry, and unsurprising; much like fruit or an aged harem."

"Yup, and we've all become very proud of him." Stoic said admiring his son. Hiccup looked up to his father and felt a radiating glow of pride fill his heart. A smile curled up from his face and returned to mindlessly scratch Toothless's ebony scales.

"This is the village center," Stoic stated as the group approached the area. Stores and houses surrounded the square to create many alleyways and roads in every direction possible. "Wherever you turn there will be a skilled craftsman or craftswoman in their workshop. Each person has enough experience in their trade and combat to earn their keep and share of wealth. Because this is the heart of the village market, you may establish your trade post here."

"Many thanks Stoic the Vast. Are any of these craftsmen specialists?" Ilias asked.

"Of course! Anywhere you go; children are receiving their father's experience who have learned from their grandfathers who have learned from their great grandfathers and so on."

"So, is it possible that I may go to any person and ask them to make their finest quality craft and expect it to be everything I hope it to be?" Ilias questioned.

"I don't see why not?"

"Then I accept your challenge!" Ilias boomed. He bounced around the square looking for an idle person so he may question them. He eventually found a Viking sitting down and enjoying the midday sunshine; with haste he ran over to the warrior and held the shell in the space separating them. He then asked kindly, "pardon me sir what is your name?"

"Hoskuld"

"Hoskuld?" The Viking nodded his head to confirm Ilias's pronunciation. "Yes, Hoskuld may I inquire to what is your trade?"

"I'm a healer of soles," Hoskuld pridefully stated.

"Oh! Well, my accompaniment," pointing to Decessus, "has endured a rather tiring voyage in his age and now his soul is exhausted, weathered, and callous." He glowered at the explorer with the last comment. "What do you believe you can accomplish?"

"Well," the man analyzed over Decessus mentally preparing a diagnostic, "I suggest a new pair. Perhaps with some tanned leather," he added.

"You…you are not a medicine man are you? Ilias inquired suspiciously.

"I am but a cobbler."

"Oh, well thank you." Ilias walked away, a blush darkening his wood colored skin. When he returned to the party he stretched out the folds in his face and attempted to return to his valiant and bright composure. Finishing the emotional cleansing, Decessus sneered at the elder wearing a look that silently said, "you idiot, you just made a bigger fool out of yourself before you told them about the time you tried to ride a peacock."

"Stoic," Decessus asked from behind the leader. "Where is your house in all of this? I think your men would like to stop hauling our luggage." Stoic peered backwards and saw the band of men slightly reddened and sweaty.

"Why must you be so impatient?" Ilias complained as he reentered the front of the group. "I have more questions about Berk and we have not even witnessed the forest or mountains!"

"Actually," Stoic began watching a fellow Viking set down a bag to wipe the sweat on his brow. "I think he may be right. Hiccup, you lead our other guest and the men to the house. I'll be there once as I finish with Ilias."

"Sure Dad." Hiccup waved his hand and called the remaining tribesmen forward.

As they all walked up a greater incline of Berk, Decessus paid little attention to the beauty of the Earth and nature. He simply marched up the slope passing every Viking only to stay behind Hiccup.

"Where's your house?" Decessus asked when was next to the boy.

"It's up there," he pointed. They both looked to see the meager home and continued, "it's not much but home is home; you know?"

"I guess." They all arrived at the home and Hiccup said his goodbyes and thanks to the men. They nodded their heads, mumbled in gratitude, and left the belongings on the ground outside the house. But Decessus patiently waited for Hiccup to open the front door (as is tradition for a guest to be lead by the host) while he played momentarily with Toothless.

Looking up from his best friend, Hiccup quizzically asked, "do you want to just, you know, put your stuff inside the house?"

"It would be rude without my host letting me in."

Hiccup recognized the unsaid request and opened the door for him. Decessus then picked up one of the crates that were laid down by the men and walked inside.

Internally, Decessus admired the humble house. No massive Ionian columns, no lion headed fonts, and no trapdoors to keep the prisoners. It reminded him of a simpler time, a time when he could enjoy life and the life he had, and served no man but himself. But to Hiccup, his eyes were sharp and searched for a flaw in the space while his face was a dam holding back his criticism; he felt ashamed and embarrassed as not a single positive word left the visitor's mouth that could describe his home. A man's home is his castle, but what if that castle means nothing? Does that mean he is worth nothing? Does that mean he is nothing? He vowed that he could never return to that state of existence, and inwardly cursed himself for not being more charismatic, intelligent, or strong. If not to impress Decessus, then to impress himself and believe that he tried; but there was only silence. Toothless could feel the self-loathing and stepped forward to nuzzle him. Although he felt calmer, he could still never feel at ease with those grey eyes silently judging his people and him. Looking up and down the small living room Decessus asked, "Where will Ilias sleep and where will I sleep?"

"Uhh, we only have one guest room," Hiccup said sheepishly.

"Deus save me." He sighed and picked up the second crate and said, "Thank you though. Where is the room again?"

"Down that hallway, and to the left." Decessus took a crate and walked into the guest room. Placing it by the window on the opposite side of the door, he internally noted that the room had one bed but it was slightly larger than the ship cabin. One person had to sleep on the floor, and by default it would be him, but he would have to sleep on the floor comfortably; somehow. He went back to retrieve the last crate and when he returned to the room Hiccup was sitting on the single bed and asked, "how, can you still speak to me without that shell?"

Placing it by the other crate, he responded only satisfy Hiccup's curiosity. "I have one of my own." He took out a white shell the size of a date and showed it to him. "It's smaller but it still works because Latin, my native language, is the root of all Northern languages: including yours. Ilias needs a bigger shell because his language does not derive or relate to your language."

"Oh, "he saw the mercenary's hand reach out and he placed the shell back in his palm even though he was not finished studying it. "Well what kind of shell is this?"

"In all truth, this is not really a shell; but more of a fragment that happens to look like a shell." He then left the room but yelled out, "But it is called a Babble shell because a fish, whose habitat was near a structure once called the Tower of Babel, used the tower's broken pieces as shells. Sometime later some explorers found the remains of the tower and realized that it could take any language and convert it so the user can understand and be understood." He returned with all the bags on his arms and shoulders, never looking at Hiccup, and continued the conversation. "But the pieces only have the power to translate as much as it knows. The bigger it is the better it is."

Taking a risk, Hiccup chortled, "it's not the size that counts; it's how many counted it."

"That," he said while looking up from his labor, "was impressive. May I open a window?"

"It snows for nine months and hails for the other three, you sure?"

"Well," he said looking out the round window, "it's not snowing or hailing now."

"Go ahead then."

"Decessus!" The sound of Ilias's aged voice rang throughout the abode. "We have returned, and what an excursion! It was indeed quite the expedition. I must forever commit this to memory so we may tell the Caliphate later."

"Hiccup? Where are you?" Stoic's voice resonated from the living room.

"I'm in the guest room!"

"Decessus! Have you unpacked the luggage and crates yet?

"You can do that on your own," he replied as he entered the living room. "I don't want you to become choleric because I opened your prayer rug the wrong way."

Surprised, Ilias said, "thank you then for respecting my privacy."

Stoic then interrupted the two by asking, "would you two like to have dinner with my boy and me?"

Ears perking up behind his turban, "yes of course! We are bound by our hosts to enjoy every possible opportunity for hospitality."

"But," Decessus stepped in between the two, "before that we need to finish unpacking."

"That can wait Decessus," Ilias calmly rebuked.

"No, it cannot." He then dragged Ilias into the guest room forgetting to excuse himself of the company. Once inside and closing the door, he began to admonish the elder. "Ilias, we need to start using these people for our advantage! Any more wasted time on shoe cobblers-"

"We have time on our side," he said peacefully, "have faith."

"No," he said enraged by the aged. "The world is made by men who take their own destinies into their own hands. We must act now instead of asking and hoping that we will receive some revelation that will lead us to the Rage."

"Then what do you propose Decessus?"

"We go to their libraries and see if they have any maps cataloging the upper seas and anything else that may give us an inkling about the Rage. Perhaps they have witnessed it and they did not understand what they saw, so they may have recorded it in a story or journal."

"Yes," Ilias pondered aloud, "that may just work."

"No, it shall work."

The two exited the room to find Stoic and Hiccup both sitting on a couch while Toothless rested his a wing on Hiccup. It was clear that they were both in their own worlds.

"Excuse me Stoic the Vast and Hic-cough," Ilias said to reel them back into reality. "May I ask you a question?"

Suddenly aware, both shouted "okay" only seconds apart.

"Where is your athenaeum?"

"Our what?" Stoic said still trying to replay the question in his mind.

"Your bibliotheca."

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"Your library." Ilias said with a hint of irritation.

"The place where you store scrolls and books and papers." Decessus defined in annoyance.

"Oh! You want books!" Stoic exclaimed. "Okay, Hiccup can you get the books?"

He ran up the set of stairs and returned with only five moderately sized books and placed them on the table by Ilias and Decessus.

"This is it." Hiccup said.

"Are you positive?"

"We, never really had time for writing," Stoic said bashfully. "Dragon war and all that. But we're writing more now that we have time!"

"Are they now finished?"

"Well, they're still on the drawing board," Hiccup shyly admitted.

"Many thanks Stoic the Vast and Hic-cough." Ilias said as he bowed from the waist up.

"If you need anything, I shall be in the mess hall preparing the feast for our guests. It's the biggest building in Berk, you can't miss it."

"Thank you! I shall take upon myself to satisfy that offer if the time comes. We shall be our quarters reading these fine books." Decessus took the small pile of books and both left the father, son, and creature and began to read in their temporary bedroom. Ilias closed the door while Decessus set the pile on a nearby night stand. With bravado, he took a book with a red cover and opened it.

But when Decessus opened the first page of he was assaulted by lines and incoherent scrawl. He stumbled backwards as the strokes made columns and rows that looked like the other columns and rows on the page. He turned to the next and the next but he was attacked by a language that was completely foreign to him. "This is impossible, I can't read pictographs or hieroglyphics and I certainly cannot read whatever this is."

"We must find a pattern," Ilias said as he turned the book upside down and then right side up. "Language revolves around patterns. If we find the pattern-"

"But we don't have time for that and we don't have time to have a translator tell us what these say verbally" he angrily said slamming the book closed and dropping it hastily to the floor.

"Then we must learn the language," he rebutted while closing the book.

"Do we have time?"

"If we believe it to be, then it shall be."

"But how?"

"From this moment and onwards, we must learn the language and refuse to use the shells."

"Can we learn fast enough?" Decessus asked doubtfully.

"I educated myself in Latin days before I met you and utilizing the origin of all Northern languages, we should be able to learn to read and speak faster than had we not been trained in Latin."

"When shall we start?"

"Perhaps tomorrow, no we shall begin tonight," he said with conviction. "The village is hosting a feast in our honor and that shall be an excellent opportunity to begin our education. We may only be able to inquire about specific words and rules of speech and it is very likely that we shall only learn the basics."

"And we can use what we learned to begin translation the following morning."

"I shall continue to interact with the others and attempt to expand my vocabulary and tenses and by the midday I should have complete mastery over this language."

"Can you accomplish such a feat?"

Looking out the window still holding the book he stated, "if we believe it to be, then it shall be."

* * *

It was that time of day when Hiccup and Toothless would go flying but neither felt the urge to go into the skies. To them, flight was a gift that should be enjoyed and never forced; and so on days where there was no want or desire, they would go to their little hiding spot and enjoy each other's company. On their way to the canyon, Toothless sensed someone.

"Hey, what is it bud?"

Toothless only craned his head around and began running through the forest.

"Whoa! Hang on! I can't keep up!"

When he finally caught up to his friend, his heart plummeted to his gut.

Sitting on a log was Decessus reading and writing something. He stood up and walked over to the creek to wash his hands and sat back down. Hiccup felt dread around him, and to be intruded in his personal haven (even though it was far from the glade that he and Toothless shared) was torture.

"I know you're there. So just stop hiding and go away. I'm busy." Decessus irately called out.

He was scrutinized, shamed, embarrassed, and now insulted. What pride Hiccup earned meant nothing to the stranger. And that infuriated him.

"No!" He shouted as he emerged from the brush.

"What? Oh Hiccup." Decessus said deflatedly.

"This is my place! My home!" He continued to yell as he approached the mercenary. "You don't have the-"

"Can you help me with something?"

"What?" A look of confusion spread throughout his face mid-tirade. His body sagged and softened as the rage that inflated him vanished into the forest air.

"Look, I can't understand your language. Can you help me? I need to translate your books and I have not a clue on how to begin. And I only have until tonight's feast, because after that no one will be able to speak coherently let alone teach an entire language. And you look like the person who prefers to understand things rather than to kill things mindlessly. And I'm in no mood to ask that Fishlegs boy to explain the language. He," pausing for a moment, "bothers me. So will you help me?"

"Uhh, sure?" Still suspicious of his intentions.

"Is that a question or an answer?"

"Yes," Hiccup said, "Yes, I'll help you."

"Thanks, so start with the basics." Toothless no longer sensing the anger and frustration that led him to the creek, spread his body in a spot where the sunshine sneaked through the branches and slept knowing his master had pride.

* * *

The lesson was productive enough so Decessus could read, write, and speak simple sentences in the Viking language. Realizing that the feast was about to begin in an hour, they all left the creek at sunset. But the voyage out of the forest took longer because of Hiccup's prosthesis and the resting that he needed to relax the pain.

The moon was high and Decessus followed Hiccup and Toothless through the night village. Tiny candles flickered from the insides of houses while stars flickered above the Earth. The usual sounds of the alehouse were gone and the usual elders who spent the night reminiscing of the past were nowhere to be seen. But they approached a sound unlike anything Decessus ever heard. To Decessus, it reminded him of the bathing houses but worse. When they approached the sound Decessus saw a massive building far larger than the chieftain's house. Hiccup and Toothless both pushed the large wooden doors and a rush of sounds and smells overwhelmed the trio.

The stench of meat and mead mixed with each other while the noise of conversations and laughter layered on top of each other. It was nothing less than an flood of the senses.

"Come here!" Stoic bellowed above the crowd. "Sit with my boy and me and we'll have you something to drink and eat!"

"Yes! Do take your place with Stoic the Vast," Ilias cried from a circular table. "You may seat yourself by me Decessus!"

The three made their way to the father and elder whose shell sat on the table infront of him. Decessus sat in between Ilias and Hiccup and Toothless curled around the round table and rested his head by Hiccup's prosthetic leg. "Have you learned anything yet Ilias?" Decessus asked.

"Quite in fact, yes I have! Do watch!" He took the shell and brushed something above it away. His brows defined and sharpened as he tried to make words leave his mouth. "This," Ilias patting the table, "is a tablet."

"No, it's the table" Stoic corrected for what sounded like the umpteenth time.

"Table," he said slowly to correct himself, "and this," he said holding a loaf of bread, "is beard."

"Bread." He corrected again in irritation.

"Bread, thank you, and this!" he said loudly while holding a wet fish, "is fashion!"

"Fish."

"Fash."

"Oh Deus," Decessus said with a smile.

"Well, it would entertain me to see you speak this language!"

"Fine then." He first took out the little shell in his tunic and brushed away an invisible cloud. He then grabbed random objects on the table and pronounced with perfect clarity as he held each one in front of Ilias, "spoon, cup, mead, hand." Then he began to point at objects and say more complex words such as, "chandelier, fireplace, support beam," and looking over to Hiccup, "virgin."

Hiccup's jaw dropped to the floor but Ilias, ever the optimist, swept some imaginary air back over to the shell and cheerfully cried, "Decessus! This is fantastic! You clearly have a control over this language! Tomorrow you shall begin reading and translating the few books that we have and I shall continue to practice. We are now closer to our goal!"

Ilias grabbed a small cup of mead and shouted, "fruor nostrum preteritus prosperitas quod fruor Decessus!"

Decessus raised his eyebrow suspiciously and responded, "it should actually be 'fruor nostrum posterus prosperitas quod fruor Decessus."

Ilias frowned and said to him, "لمجرد باسمكم يعني الموت لا يعني أنك تستطيع أن نتألم من الحياة."

"And now you realize that?" He sipped his cup of mead and commented on how nice the finish was of the mead. But threats aside, the feast was enjoyed by all.

But somewhere far off in the ocean, something began burning in silent fury.

**A/N: So yeah, it's not at that point where we see less OC's and more Cannon characters yet because I'm still explaining things. But none the less, a massive thank you to A Frumious Bandersnatch for being so active with this story! Please remeber to Rate and Review! Feedback is always nice! (PS Try putting Ilias's line in an arabic translator! He's very nasty to poor Decessus)**


	3. The First Discoveries

**Disclaimer: Dreamworks owns HTTYD and its respective characters**

**All other characters are original works by the author**

Hiccup never awoke earlier than the sunrise, it was never his nature to do so. And Toothless never awoke earlier than his master, it was never his nature to do so. But something called out to the boy. Something eased into his blank dreams and filled his mind. The void grew into joy and content, then to longing, and ending in hunger.

He forced his eyes open to silence his belly and pushed off the covers to shove away the pangs. He rubbed the part of his remaining leg and attached the prosthetic limb in the morning silence, being extremely careful not to disturb his friend with the clicks and snaps it emitted.

Taking quiet steps to his hamper, he silently mused that he would need new clothes soon. Remembering the guests that were sleeping downstairs he wondered if he could buy some fabric from Ilias.

"I hope he has green," he thought.

The young Viking left his room and descended carefully down the stairs, making sure to take tiny steps so he would not fall down. Toothless would usually help him but there would be no awakening the dragon.

"Not without cod," he chuckled.

Turing to enter the dining room, he was struck with awe.

On the table rested a pile of eggs decorated with thin leafy stalks of something unknown to him. He walked over to a pot and opened it, only to be greeted by a rush of an aroma that was pungent yet sweet. When most of the scent cleared, he peered inside the wooden pot and found bits of vegetables and curd mixed in. In the center of all this was a loaf of flat bread with oil and butter in its own individual bowls at its sides. When the sun barely rose over Berk, the room was filled with an amber glow giving it the appearance of jewels and treasures.

"I greet you so early in this morning Hic-cough!" an avalanche of white cloth whispered carrying a plate of dried fruits and other things in one plate in his left hand and the shell in his right. The pile of snow was immediately recognized as Ilias and in a low voice he said, "We had prepared a morning meal, or as you call it 'breakfast' as thanks for the feast that your people had hosted. Are you thirsty?" Before Hiccup could even open his mouth, "of course you are. Decessus, bring the child the drink that you have prepared."

And on cue, Decessus entered from the kitchen door. He held a clay jug and set it onto the table. Hiccup looked into the pitcher and saw a milk that was slightly darker than the color of eggshells.

He poured the liquid into a nearby wooden cup and raised it to his lips. Although it was only a sip, he was flooded by the taste of milk, honey and a slight burning on his tongue.

"Is it to your liking? Decessus tells me that it is very good but I cannot have the drink as the milk passes through me as Jews pass for Muslims, not very well if I may clarify."

Finishing his latest gulp of the modified milk he asked, "I know there's milk and honey but what else is in here?"

"Ah yes, you taste the cinnamon? Well it is a spice, an ingredient that gives food a stronger definition in flavor. Imagine it to be the 'finishing touch' of a dish."

"It's good," Hiccup said as he looked up from the cup.

"It is fantastic that you enjoy it." Ilias finished his sentenced as Stoic walked into the room and greeted him, "I greet you Stoic the Vast! You do not look as lucid or sharp as you were last night, would you prefer to have some coffee?"

Instinctually, Hiccup flinched at the word 'coffee' but regardless Stoic replied, "will I have to eat the bean?"

"No, only if you would wish so. But it is tradition that coffee be ground into dust and then put the grinded material and sugar in a container with water to be boiled. Then one would drink the creation. May I offer you some?"

"Why not?"

Ilias handed the shell to Decessus and ran out the room. Before the morning shadows could even inch forward, flood of fabric rushed in the room holding an intricately crafted vase. The white curtain regained its composure and set down the vase. The face of Ilias beamed up to the father and son and said, "it would honor me if I may serve to you a cup of Arabian Coffee Stoic the Vast."

He then grabbed a wooden cup on the opposite side of the table and placed it in front of the ornate metal vase. Gripping it, he gently let out a pour of black water and filled close to the brim. He finished pouring out the coffee and set the vase down again with much care.

"Would you like sugar Stoic the Vast?"

"I would, thank you."

Ilias took a saucer with the sweetener and added a pinch to the cup. With a steady hand yet shriveled hand, he offered it to Stoic. "Careful," he warned, "it is very hot so I would suggest giving it a gust of cold air from your mouth."

He took the elder's suggestion and blew in a thin stream to clear the hot vapor, making ripples in the black lake. Finished, he took a sip and his eyes shot up.

"It's bitter!" The chieftain exclaimed.

"Sugar?" Ilias asked while attempting to peddle his sugar just like the day before.

"No, I like it. It's very strong."

"Soon you shall feel the reviving effects of the coffee and you shall feel no drowsiness or feelings of lethargy. Stronger, faster, better, sooner. Yes, what power in a single drink."

After Ilias's momentary tribute to coffee, they all took their place at the square table. Ilias sat to the side of Stoic while, much to Hiccup's discomfort, Decessus sat across from the teen.

Ilias and Stoic engaged in conversation occasionally including Hiccup. Stoic questioned Ilias about battles and Ilias questioned Stoic about what Vikings do in their spare time. If the enjoyment of the conversation could be measured by how much has been eaten by the two; then the conversation was an extreme success as half of everything was eaten by the aged.

But Hiccup could not enjoy the meal as much as his father because something was bothering him. Even as the pale mercenary politely shoved food into his mouth, he could feel the grey eyes crushing him. Perceiving homesickness, he was eating more food faster than he did last night. The analysis: he obviously preferred this meal than what the Vikings had prepared. Even though it was more flavorful and exciting to eat than the regular mutton and cabbage-and-something stew, he should have at least eaten more last night. It was a feast after all; not for the Gods, not for the fallen warriors, and not for a religious holiday that called for so. It was for Ilias and Decessus. At least Ilias enjoyed himself, but there was no pleasing the other one! Hiccup fumed as he stuffed his mouth with the foreign cuisine.

But the man across from the table looked up to Hiccup and the teen blushed as he was silently confronted as the glazed ashen eyes looked in his general direction.

"I hope he doesn't know what I'm thinking about." Hiccup prayed.

"Deus strike me down, I'm drunk," Decessus thought to himself.

"What are these leafy things?" Stoic asked while biting into thin green stem that lied on top of the fried eggs.

"It is parsley, native to the Far East. I had brought it to modify the taste of our foods." Stoic eyed the garnish and continued to eat. Immediately deciding that parsley was not his favorite, he put it down on his wooden plate and washed the taste out with Hiccup's drink.

"So Decessus," Stoic began, "how did you learn so fast last night?"

"Well I-"

"Stoic!" A young feminne voice called out from the front.

The four all ran from the table and greeted Astrid at the front of the house. It was clear that she was out of breath and tired. "What on…Astrid what is it?" Stoic asked.

"Where's Hiccup?"

"Astrid," Hiccup started, "what's going on?"

"Fireworm she's, she's out of control! Snoutlout doesn't know what to do and Ruffnut and Tuffnut tried to, well you don't want to know. Just get to the training arena! Bring Toothless!"

While Hiccup sounded an inaudiable whistle to call down Toothless, Ilias approached Decessus and whispered, "did you overhear? An arena for dragons and Vikings! How exciting!" Ilias began giddily, "I must go! Shall you attend the event with me?"

"I'll stay here and translate the books. You keep learning the language so you can help me later."

"Excellent plan," realizing Decessus's foresight, "then I shall meet you afterwards this crisis."

"You do that," he said in a bored tone. As Toothless climbed out of the house, the new group moved as quickly as they could down the slope. When they were out of sight, Decessus returned to the house to finish his breakfast. He closed the doorway, went back to the dining room and resumed his meal at his exact same spot as if nothing had happened.

After the he had his fill of the food; he left the spread to cool in the Berkian morning air. He returned to the temporary bedroom and opened the first crate by the closed round window. He shifted around the crate, making the occasional clattering and clanking noise, but eventually found a parcel wrapped in paper. Holding it up to the now yellow morning light, he read the note at the top right. Recognizing that it was indeed the package that he sought, he took the pile of books on the nightstand and went outside to work.

He embraced the package and books in his right arm and turned the door with his left, all while expecting a rush of cold Northern air. But there was no rush.

Decessus stepped out into the morning and felt the tender call of nature bringing the newest life from the Arctic spring and nurturing the already blossomed. The sun caressed the grass and embraced his body in the daylight. Stopping for a moment, he thought he felt someone holding him. Holding his hand in this foreign land. His head turned and with soft heather eyes, he expected someone or some spiritual presence to be behind him. Nothing.

His soul hardened and he reprimanded himself for such foolishness; but he inwardly wished it was possible.

Decessus took his place at an outdoor table and began to dissect the package. Inside were sheets of parchment, a brush, miniature bottles of ink, and bits of charcoal rods. He took a book from the stack, set down a sheet of paper, took out his own shell and brushed away the invisible air that hovered above it.

He carefully read the title aloud, "A History of the Families of Berk," and wrote it with in ink on his page.

* * *

It was midday once again and Decessus heard the familiar yell of Ilias. "Salutations Decessus!" He said as he approached the wooden table.

"What happened at the arena?"

"Hic-cough tamed the beast and I continued to practice the language." He said indifferently. But seeing the pages with ink and books he asked, "how do the translations fare for us?"

Setting down his pen he replied, "not well."

"How so?"

"Well the first book is about family trees and descendants and children; not useful. The second is a cook book, surprisingly there are about two hundred recipes and half use some form of meat; fascinating but not useful. The third is about dragons and how we should 'kill on sight' a majority of the time; dull and useless. The fourth isn't so much as a book as it is a pamphlet."

"Does it reveal any use?"

"Only something about 'yelling and yelling louder.'"

"That does not sound very accommodating."

"Agreed, and the last one I can't translate."

"May I?"

"Have at it."

Ilias took the book and looked over the cover and pronounced slowly, "Pride and Predjudice?"

"Sounds like it might have something to do with the Rage, read the first page."

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

"Never mind, it sounds like garbage." Decessus took the book and threw it on the ground. He paused to think and said, "maybe we've been looking in the wrong place Ilias."

"Explain yourself."

"Perhaps because these people have never had time for writing, as Stoic said, maybe they do everything orally." He paused to confront a smiling elder and reprimanded, "don't say it."

"I assure you, I have not a single idea of what you are insinuating," he said innocently.

"Okay then. Maybe they have a storyteller tradition where every myth and legend is preserved in oral tradition."

"That is indeed very possible. I shall look into it immediately. Stoic the Vast is very proud of Hic-cough's achievement for defeating the Green Death so perhaps I can lure him into speaking of it and then I will allure his pride for his culture by asking him to speak of the native religion."

"Ilias," Stoic's deep voice called out, "we have the cow!"

The two looked behind them and saw Gobber and Stoic holding a leashed cow. "Why do you need a cow?" Decessus questioned.

"To cook and eat obviously!" Ilias jested.

"Can you butcher a cow?"

"I have seen you butcher people, I am certain that I can do the same to a cow." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"It's not the same thing."'

"Not that you are aware of."

Ilias walked over to the Viking adults and began to speak well of both the cow and the foods that he planned on making with the cow.

"Here's ya sword." Gobber said unscheathing a very large sword. It gleamed in the sunlight and appeared to be recently sharpened.

Ilias took his shell and brushed away an invisible air above it. He handed it to Gobber who then exchanged the sword in return. "Thank you," he said without the use of the shell.

Decessus looked over at the three and commented, "oh Deus, this can't be good."

Ilias saw him look over and called out, "Hello Decessus! How should I cut off the," Ilias thought very carefully before yelling, "balls?" The Vikings nodded their heads in affirmation, "yes, balls!"

"Of course I have to be right," he said as he stood up from his chair.

When he approached the three, Ilias said, "you are here to watch me kill this animal, yes?"

"Give it to me." Ilias complied and carefully gave the weapon to him.

He took the blade by the hilt and weighed it in his hand. Scowling he let it fall to the ground and removed his personal sword from under his tunic. He shifted his footing and prepared to strike. His eyes focused on the physique of the cow imagining the thinner muscles, bones, and joints.

The cow happily took a clump of grass and closed its eyes. As it lazily munched on the Berkian grass, its eyes shot up and rolled behind its head. The weapon cleaved down its neck and when it finished the cut, the head fell to the ground.

The, now decapitated body, wobbled underneath its weight and dropped to the floor. He pushed the cow to a hole that was nearby and appeared to be hastily dug out. He let the blood pour out from the missing portion of the cow and walked back to pick up the sword.

"Ah, thank you Decessus! I cannot wait to cook it!" He looked over to the carcass and then commented, "actually, perhaps I can wait."

* * *

Hiccup walked with Toothless to their glade enjoying the warmth that Berk rarely had. After the problem with Fireworm had been resolved, the two friends were left to their own devices. He and his friend walked throughout the forest, chasing each other, picking flowers for each other, and benefiting from each other's happiness. They neared the entrance to their oasis and Hiccup told Toothless, "I'll meet you later. I need to do something, don't worry I'll be quick." He looked reassuringly into the beryl eyes and said, "I promise." Toothless nuzzled his body and trotted into the clearing.

The boy felt at unease when he walked into the forest, something simply did not feel right: like suspicion of some benign danger. It bothered him at the least and made him curious to see what was calling for his attention.

He carefully walked around the fallen trees and larger stones, stepped through puddles and twigs that dotted the floor, and followed his inner compass. The sun began to fade away as the clouds stepped in and yet the island remained just as warm.

"As if nothing happened," Hiccup told himself.

But in a moment, he smelled something unlike anything he ever knew. Burning and some ugly stench wafted around the trees; sensing that he was close, he picked up his speed. The aching in his prosthetic leg leaked away as his need to answer his emergent curiosity grew.

His accelerando stopped as he was confronted by an unusual sight. A thick fog filled a small space. Wisps of something strayed out from the Earthly cloud and he inhaled deeply to identify the smell. He coughed it out in disgust and abhorrence as it the smell was thick and putrid. It reeked of something burning but he could not tell what was burning. It was just too foreign.

Against his better judgment, he rushed into the haze but in a few steps he fell to the ground as he tripped on a rock.

"My Caesar! Are you alright?" A dazed voice called out from above.

Hiccup turned himself up and saw clouded eyes looking down into his emerald eyes.

"My Caesar, say something! I brought the prisoners down the trapdoors so you and your empress may be safe. Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" The eyes called out from a pale face.

"Oh Gods, I'm uhh I'm fine." Hiccup's vision defined and he saw something that he had never seen before. A smiling Decessus.

"Deus blesses us, the Caesar is unharmed!" Decessus gave out a hearty laugh and fell down on his bottom. Hiccup eyed a pipe with a chamber on the top; as Decessus brought it to his lips and inhaled slowly he took away the pipe swiftly and said, "forgive me my Caesar for being so greedy. You may have some of mine! It is not as pure but I know you to be a man of pleasures!"

"What is it?" Hiccup cautiously asked as he held the pipe.

"Did you forget Caesar? It is opium! It's good for you!" Decessus grinned.

"No thanks," he handed the pipe to Decessus, "this doesn't look like my kind of thing."

"Discretion: a pillar of virtue!" Decessus laughed but quieted down as he continued, "a pillar that has crumbled for me a long time ago."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Maybe I've had a bit too much, they said I should only do one or the other." Decessus lifted the black short sleeve of his tunic and revealed many red cuts on his bicep. "I had to sponge it in and smoke it in. Quickest way you know. You understand Caesar?" He pleadingly asked.

"Yes?"

"Thank Deus, you are truly a wise Caesar."

"You're welcome?" Hiccup let the silence fill the void and wondered inwardly if this is what the man is truly like. No longer lucid and understandable, he is not even half of the man that he knew before now.

"My Caesar? You are thinking, what is it?"

"I'm," he decided to take the risk that rushed into his head and continued, "I'm not this Caesar you keep on talking about."

"What?"

"It's me Hiccup."

"Hiccup? Oh yes! Hiccup! You're a nice kid Hiccup."

"Thanks." But the complement meant nothing and he questioned the now senile mercenary. "Why are you here?"

"To trade and stuff." Decessus shrugged, "but there's more to it."

"Like what?"

"Did you know I'm from Greece?"

"Ilias told us that."

"Think about it, I'm from Greece." Hiccup still did not understand what he was trying to allude to. "Greece fell with Julius Caesar."

"And?" Hiccup still not understanding what this conversation was leading to.

Decessus became irritated and with cloudy eyes he aggressively said, "Julius Caesar died about a thousand and three hundred years ago. If I'm from a place that fell a thousand and three hundred years ago then…"

Hiccup picked up the sentence and finished, "how can you be born in a place that doesn't exist? Oh Gods! You're from a place that's been gone for the past century! How can you be alive?" He exclaimed.

"A little deal here a little blood there, nothing that can't be done." Decessus gave a hearty laugh and took another breath from the pipe.

"This is impossible!"

"Not if you have faith," he mimicked Ilias's voice while pursing his lips together and scrunching down his eyebrows.

"Why, what, how?" Hiccup babbled facing the man but he simply smiled at the boy trying to make sense of the situation. He took a deep breath to regain his composure and calmly said, "what are you doing here?"

He rubbed his cleanly shaved jaw line and said carefully, "to trade and stuff."

"Yes, you told me that. But what else?"

"To hunt something down. Something really awful. Ilias calls it some Muslim garble and I call it 'Saevio' but I think the closest word to it in your language is 'the Rage'."

* * *

Elsewhere Ilias sat in front of a crowd as Stoic retold the great battle between the Green Death and the Vikings. He was captivated by his voice and the art but most importantly he was listening to great detail about the battle.

"So we got through the ocean and the mist. When we finished unloading all the weapons and our men onto the volcano island beach I walked over to the first entrance I could see. We launched a few of our catapults and a thousand dragons flew out of the cave!" Stoic boomed again, "a thousand!" He took a quick drink from his cup and continued, "but not a single one fought me, and when there was not a single dragon left I heard something." He paused and inched closer from his standing position, "a low screeching and howling echoed through the cave. And I saw a little flicker and I ran as fast as I could down the slope of the volcano. A blast of fire was rushing through the cave! Luckily the fire didn't catch me but in a second this huge dragon bursts out! It must've been the size of the volcano!"

Ilias's face soured as it transformed from fascination to fear. Stoic's voice lost its volume as he found what he dreaded the most.

"O fate, why are you so cruel?" He inwardly mourned.

* * *

Hiccup sat down on the green floor and asked, "what is it?"

"I dunno, but I told Ilias that maybe you people have something about it in your stories and tales cause you never wrote it down in books and papers and things. So I told Ilias to go listen in to it all. He's going to find something."

Before Decessus could even bring the pipe back to his mouth, Hiccup took it away, snapped it in half, and crushed it beneath his boot.

"Why'd you do that?" Decessus cried out.

"I'm bringing you back," Hiccup said. He continued to reprimand the man by saying, "I'm getting to the bottom of this. Now." He grabbed him by the wrist and burst out of the smoke. He whistled for Toothless and in a moment he bounded through the woods searching for Hiccup. By the time Toothless was by his master's side, Decessus was no longer intelligible speaking inaudible Latin phrases. He climbed up the saddle and made sure to keep the now dazed man on the dragon by using some rope to tie him down to the seat.

They flew off, Hiccup now determined to figure out who these people are and what is their true purpose here at Berk.

**A/N: So yeah, it's dark. I think I'm pushing the T rating to the extreme because of cow slaying and opium references but I think I'm still in the boundaries. No sex + no gore = no M rating. This is the second to last portion where there's a lot of OC's in the mix, and soon there'll be more emphasis on the primary characters. I promise. **

**Another bigger thank you to A Frumious Bandersnatch (and for the plug that you gave me in Valkyrie Chapter 5) and to my newest reviewers Spyden (you must hate me now because Decessus didn't explain how he learned so quickly) and Yuro-Faita911(unfortunately no there is no hyper-Hiccup)! Please rate, review and give me your thoughts!**


	4. The First Truth

**Disclaimer: the Characters of How to Train Your Dragon belong to Dreamworks**

**Everything else is by Travis Church**

After the story, Stoic walked over the table Ilias was sitting at. He pulled himself a chair and a tankard of ale and asked, "Ilias what's wrong? Did that scare you?" He laughed while giving a slap on his back.

The elder straightened his posture at the jolt of pain and said without the shell, "More than you know."

The cries and calls of joy resonated throughout the dining hall as Hiccup and Toothless walked to the two adults. When they approached the table, Hiccup pulled forward a sagging version of Decessus.

"Ahh, Hiccup! I was just telling the story where you-"

"Dad, I need to tell you something," he cut him off curtly.

They walked away from the table and Ilias left his seat to help the mercenary to a chair.

"What happened to you?" He asked while offering some mead and bread.

"Ughh, he found me using Opium in the forest," he said as he pushed away the lunch.

"Oh Allah, we have no time left. I hoped we would have longer before this would happen."

"What are you going to do Ilias?"

"Hope for the best," he paused and saw the father and son fuming as they approached the two and then continued, "And let fate take hold of our destinies."

"Alright, who are you people?" Stoic began. "We let you into our home, give you our food and drink, and give you the right to trade as foreigners. As foreigners!" He said pointing a meaty finger at Ilias. "Why are you here?"

Ilias, with infinite amounts of patience and composure, stood from his wooden chair and offered, "If I may ask to be heard by all your people then I shall explain myself."

Stoic grabbed Decessus from his seat and shepherded both the merchant and the mercenary to the center of the hall. He called everyone to the center and told Ilias, "Who are you and why are you here? If you lie," he began to brandish his sword, "You shall feel no mercy."

Ilias took his shell from his white robe and took some invisible air and placed it to the floor so he may not have to cradle it. He gave much deliberation about the words he was about to say, for it may be the last time he may ever speak to the people of Berk.

"I am here not as merchant and neither he as a mercenary. I left Mecca for Constantinople, received my accompaniment, approached the Caliphate in Baghdad, obtained our task, traveled to Muscat, sailed out of the Aegean Sea, through the Mediterranean Sea, past the Iberian Peninsula, and North. Throughout that voyage, we had never considered ourselves to be adventurers or characters in an epic poem."

"But on my visit to the Caliphate, I had a vision. I saw something so heinous and awful that it rivals any demon, monster, and terror you can imagine. I saw a fire. A fire that burns in an inhuman way and burns for all eternity. A fire that secretes smoke so thick and putrid that you would believe it to be floating tar. A fire that laughs and cackles as it engulfs people, buildings, and the Earth in its red body. This fire, this horrid fire, originates from a being so wretched and cursed that mankind knows it by its modern name for its ancient name is too difficult to pronounce."

"It is called the Rage."

"At that very moment, I searched for every myth and legend conceived to dispose of the fear that there is such a fate. Yet inside one of my books was an illusion to a fable, 'a void separates the fire and ice and one day it shall spill into the emptiness and destroy all.'"

"I believed that there was indeed such a fire!" He then said desperately, "Countless hours devoted to speculating and proposing theories that could define the origin of the fire! But nothing in the numerous tales or references I possessed could show the origins of the fire."

"I had hoped for the best, assuming that although the fire was indeed inevitable, the cursed fireplace was mere myth and laid it to rest assuming it was some unearthly punishment that is to be doled out to the worst of mankind in the far off 'end of days.'"

"We arrived on your shore and I prayed that I may return to the task that the Caliphate assigned, which was to trade with you and become peaceable with your people, but I still needed to satisfy the yearning to confirm or deny my greatest fears. And listening to your stories of the Green Death, I believe that I have now affirmed the worst possible fate."

"The description of the island where the Green Death resided matches perfectly with the vision I received of the Rage," Ilias said with a somber tone.

He then adopted a more hopeful tone as he carried on. "It was fate that brought me to Decessus in the market at Constantinople, it was fate that gave me the ability to deceive our wisest leader, the Caliphate, into granting patronage for my false voyage, and it was fate that created winds that drove us to Berk swiftly and safely. And it is fate that my deepest fears have come to light. "

He paused for a moment to regain his breath. "Have you seen an entire city swallowed by a sandstorm with its wretched mouth? Have you seen an entire people transformed into pillars of burning salt, their faces showing no other emotion than agony? Have you seen a continent fall into the sea, no salvation as the waves sweep away everything in plain sight? Have you?" He asked the crowd, never expecting an answer.

"If you were given the chance to guide those people out of the now nonexistent city, would you not take that chance? " He continued to plea with the crowd, "If you were given the opportunity to cure that horrid disease, should you not do so? If you were given the chance to build a ship that could take every passenger on that sunken island, ought you not do so?"

"This is not a question of practicality or strategy; this is a question of morals!" He cried out to the Viking audience.

"And Allah as my one true witness," he said in a near whisper and continued with his bellowing voice, "I shall do what I must to prevent such a disaster!"

"There was no doubt in my mind that I would have to defend mankind. But there is doubt as to how I can defend mankind. But none the less, I refuse to let any blood be spilled because I had not acted. I refuse to let any innocents be tortured because I had not spoken. And I refuse to let any beast onto the Earth to unleash its unholy wrath because I had not been so brave!" He yelled in outrage.

"I am an old man, but I am a wise old man. I see that you have all suffered losses and pains that are no longer possible because of Hic-cough. If you had the opportunity, would you not attempt to release all of your pains and agonies in one moment just like him?" He pleaded onwards, "All the empty lover's beds, all the quiet family rooms, all the broken bones and spilled blood: gone in a single moment."

He inhaled deeply and sighed. "I lied to you, deceived you, and did so intentionally so that way I may be closer to that moment. The moment where man is closest to peace and the light of tranquility rushes upon him and liberates all pains and suffering. The end of the Rage shall bring forth a catharsis. A catharsis that shall wash away the fears and uncertainty of today and leave behind the spirit to move along with our lives. That is an experience that every man, woman, and child deserves to see."

"If you do not accept my true intentions and you are so deeply offended then I must leave. I shall let no man, no force of nature, and not a single fear prevent me from confronting the Rage."

"But if you do," he looked over to Stoic and Hiccup, "I ask that you forgive me for I had sinned. And I had failed to give you my true self and my true intentions. And I ask that you aid me. It is a wretched thing, a burning that will engulf all and leave nothing but a callous charred remain of what once was. I, only a merchant, and he, only a mercenary, can do so much. Will you aid us?"

Ilias had finished his oration and looked into the faces of the villagers. He saw nothing from these Vikings; no emotion, no man eager to assist them in their cause, no sign of hope. It had seemed that fate and her good favor had left the room.

**A/N: We're almost done with the first part, then we can see Hiccup and Toothless take a front seat in the plot. Yay Hiccup and Toothless!**

**But now that I've gotten over the big climax, I'm going to take a bit of break. So what that means is that I'll be developing my newest fic ****Pomona**** and I'll be writing more reviews for other authors and ****The Strangers**** will just be on the backburner for now. I now feel like I have more time because I don't feel as pushed to get over this hurdle. So you drop me a review and I'll make sure to do the same!**

**A big thanks to Spyden, Yuro-Faita911, and a really big thanks to the amazing A Frumious Bandersnatch for the plug in Chapter 5 of ****Valkyrie****! Go read it, it's amazing!**

**Rate, review, and give me your thoughts!**


	5. The First Prayer

**Disclaimer: the Characters of How to Train Your Dragon belong to Dreamworks**

**Everything else is by Travis Church**

Silence filled the grand hall and Ilias felt his own fears grow with each and every beat of his heart. But he felt something inside the silence: fear. Were these people afraid of what he had just said? They should be, there is no reason why they should not. But he may have unearthed a fear that had been long dead. There is something out there that is worse than their Green Death.

"Why should we believe you? Or your story?" Stoic stepped forward to question the elder. "How do you know that there is something that horrible? Maybe you've mixed up the Rage with the Green Death."

"I can assure you my host," Stoic winced at the word, "The Rage and the Green Death are two completely different entities with two different purposes."

"How?" A Viking in the crowd asked.

"The Green Death is but a product of the Rage. The Green Death's purpose on this mortal plain is to survive like any other creature whereas the Rage's purpose is to annihilate the mortal plain that we stand on."

"I've had enough of this!" Stoic bellowed. "Get them out of here and put them in the barracks! I'm not sure what you're trying to do or who you're trying to fool," he said stepping forward to confront the duo. "But I'm not dealing with this anymore."

"But-" Ilias pleaded.

"No! We shall decide your fate later, you are no longer welcome here."

Ilias was lead by a Viking and Decessus hauled up by two others. When they left Stoic called forth everyone of importance to the meeting chambers.

Stoic lead them to a door and opened it furiously, he waited for eleven Viking men to take their seats at a wooden table and waited a bit longer. When the village elder stepped forward and entered the room, everyone stood up and greeted her.

Knowing that there was not a single warrior in absence, he shut the door and sat down at the side of the elder.

One Viking with a wild beard started, "What if they're spies?"

Another one continued off the assumption, "What if they're scouts for another people?"

Then an additional Viking jumped in, "What if they're both!"

"Silence!" Stoic bellowed, "We cannot judge who these people are yet. But we can say that they have been lying to us."

A softer voice chimed in, "Maybe they do mean well?"

"And throw a myth that there is something worse than the Green Death?" The Viking across from him said. "I have lived through invasions, plagues, and blizzards. But I have never seen something worse than the Green Death."

The arguments raged on, even Stoic was caught up in the furor, but when the village elder raised a thin hand up the chaos ended. "Stoic," her aged voice crooned, "how is your boy doing?"

Not wanting to offend the elder by ignoring her question, he replied, "He's fine. I mean, he's had these screaming fits at night. But he's leg's better now and-"

"What screaming?" She stopped him.

"He says it's a nightmare, but I think it's about that day we killed the Green Death."

"Interesting, bring him here. We shall not utter a word until Hiccup is here." She pointed to a man on the opposite side of her and he left the room for Hiccup. He returned moments later and Hiccup awkwardly strode before the gathering. "Hiccup," she began, "Tell us about your nightmares."

Surprised at the village elder's question about his dreams, he paused for a moment to recall every event. "Well sometimes I dream I'm falling off Toothless and he's too far away to catch me. And sometimes I dream that the Green Death is right in front of me. But I had this one dream where I was wandering these tunnels and when I got out of the tunnel, Berk was on fire. I went back into the tunnels and just ran." He stopped to remind himself that they were only dreams. "But I'm okay."

"Was there smoke in the latter dream?"

Astonished by her inquiry, he responded, "Yes."

"Was it thick ugly smoke? Like when we burn large trees?"

"Yeah."

"What about the tunnels? When you returned to the tunnels, how long were you traveling? Roughly a month's time?"

"Yes! Wait, how do you know all of this?"

She ignored Hiccup's question and spoke, "Bring the two from the barracks. We must speak to them."

She pointed to the same warrior and two others and they went off to retrieve the strangers. This time, they heard shouting outside the chamber and when they returned Ilias was calmly escorted to the front of the table while Decessus was thrown down to the floor next to the merchant.

"Ilias Ibn Khaldun al Safi," his attention was distracted momentarily as he helped Decessus to his feet. "What is the Rage?"

"Explain yourself."

"What is the Rage exactly? It's shape, it's character, it's potential for destruction. What is it?"

"Well," he finished dusting of his companion, "The Rage in my vision is this hulking demon. It resided inside of a volcano, which I am absolutely sure that the volcano is the one where the Green Death once took residence within, somewhere seven days off of here. Not a single mortal could find the Rage for it was nestled inside pillars of stone and unnatural Earth. The smoke that would be created by the Rage would only be hidden inside the layers of fog surrounding it. It has tentacles that reach out in every direction, spanning the length of thirty days of travel by boat. The fire is impossible to quell as its flames are inhuman and originate from the dawn of the world's creation. The nexus of the Rage is within that volcano and that is what I am sure of."

He finished his glib and awaited the mockery and the barrage of questions. But the village elder stopped the inevitable flood with her hand. "Ilias Ibn Khaldun al Safi and Decessus, I have no doubt that you are both traders and merchants. But this mission, this righteous mission of yours, has some credibility."

"What!" Many of the warriors exclaimed.

Not to be dissuaded, "Your description of this Rage matches young Hiccup's numerous nightmares."

"It does?" He squeaked.

"We have long believed in fate and her mystical plans for us. I knew at Hiccup's birth that he would be the one most affected by fate's decisions. If there is indeed a message from the Gods, Hiccup would have received it for he is blessed with fate's good will. Fate has brought us Hiccup and thus ending the dragon war. Fate has also unfortunately brought this horrible future to light. But it is not fate that shall end this, it shall be man. Ilias Ibn Khaldun al Safi and Decessus," she paused, "you are on a task that shall not be stopped by any mortal. Who are we to stop you? But if such a beast is unleashed upon the world because we idled as you risked your life, the honor that our ancestors have given us means nothing."

"Thank you for your acceptance of our mission." Ilias bowed to the village elder.

"My approval means nothing," she stopped, "In the face of death. Is there anything that we can provide you?"

"What!" One Viking exclaimed as he jumped from his chair, "They cannot-"

"We need an expeditionary force," Decessus offered while gripping his chest to speak.

"There is no way that-"

"You and your expeditionary force receive my blessings." The elder interrupted the same Viking. The room fell to silence as she made her decree. "Stoic, what I am about to say shall be very difficult to hear. Fate calls forward those who have been endowed with a task. No one is above that call. Fate has brought young Hiccup the visions of the Rage for some reason because he must find it. Stoic," she placed her shriveled hand on his large hand, "You must have Hiccup and Toothless go with them to find the Rage." His eyes hardened with concern at the request. "Stoic, you must do this."

"I understand village elder."

"But yet I see that you do not wish it to be, are you defiant?"

"No," he grimly denied, "I just wish it were not so."

She nodded and then proceeded, "Ilias Ibn Khaldun al Safi, how long shall it take to prepare your voyage."

"Decessus, what is your estimate?"

He counted in his mind and said plainly, "We can leave within the hour if we have some help getting supplies."

"Then what do you need?" Stoic asked.

Taken off guard by his sudden helpfulness, "Salt, meat or fish, vegetables, our things still at your guest room, wood, and flint."

"We shall deliver the supplies to your boat. Anything else?"

"No, that should be it." Decessus said.

"Then we'll get the supplies, I'll escort you to the room and Hiccup will begin to prepare for the voyage. Let's get moving."

They all moved out the meeting chamber to prepare for their journey out. Before he left, the village elder stopped him with her large staff. "Are you prepared for what is now Hiccup's mission?"

He stopped, and without looking back at her, he replied, "Who am I to let be in the way of fate's plans?" He continued to walk out the door, leaving her to question his motives.

* * *

The moon began to rise over Berk and doused the town in its sickly light. Ilias and Decessus worked quickly to vacate Stoic's home while the rest of the Vikings moved to collect the supplies.

"Hiccup?"

He looked up from Toothless's saddle to hear Stoic behind him. He opened the dragon stable doors fully and walked slowly over to his son.

"Hiccup, I hope you don't get hurt." Stoic said curtly.

"Uhh, thanks Dad. I won't." He finished latching some final pieces to the saddle.

"The day you fought the Green Death, I didn't know if you would come back. I prayed, Gods knew how many favors I asked of them, I prayed that you would return in one piece. But I knew that there was no fairness in that deal. So I prayed again," Hiccup stopped working, "I prayed that you come back to me unbroken. See there is a difference between a broken man and a wounded man. Gobber is a wounded man and he still runs the blacksmith shop. But, a broken man, a broken man is someone who has no purpose of life. They are shells of the past and remains of what were. I could not have that happen to you, my son, my only son!" Hiccup thought he heard sniffling, "So I pleaded that you come back unbroken and asked the Gods to do whatever they may but leave my boy unbroken!" Stoic bellowed to the night and stopped.

Hiccup turned around and faced his father, his now crying father.

"And so I pray again," he whispered, "Please come back to me unbroken."

Hiccup hobbled to him and gave him a comforting hug. They shared a moment in prayer in the cold Berkian night. "Dad," he mumbled from Stoic's clothing, "I will. I promise."

With that he broke the hug and lead Toothless past his father and outside the stables.

The walk to the shoreline was one of burning anticipation. They met Ilias and Decessus loading boxes onto the ship.

"Are you prepared to embark Hic-cough?" He and Toothless nodded, "Excellent, we shall travel for a few hours and then when you and your dragon feel the need to rest, you tell us so that way I may prepare an area for your respite.

And as the ship pushed off the shore, Hiccup boarded his dragon and prepared to fly away. Giving his final goodbyes to his father and his friends, he told Toothless to take to the sky.

They sailed and flew away for the hateful burning.

**A/N: This is now the end of part one! I knew that First Truth was not enough to really close everything together. So consider this to be the real end of part one!**

**A big thank you to A Frumious Bandersnatch (where's that bando fic! I want bandos!), Spyden for his critiques, and eliasdarklight for recently adding this to their favorite list which has a very good selection of fanfiction.**

**Please visit my profile page to answer a poll for my future works and your opinion about the question!**

**Please rate, review, and give me your thoughts!**


	6. The Second Shell

**Disclaimer: the Characters of How to Train Your Dragon belong to Dreamworks**

**Everything else is by Travis Church**

They traveled for about four hours before Hiccup asked Toothless to go down to the boat owned by the two crusaders. Toothless gladly accepted the boy's request and gently descended to the sand colored craft. Toothless then carefully landed on the bow of the ship and as Hiccup climbed off the rigging, Toothless outstretched his body onto the floor.

"Ah, Hic-cough," Ilias said exiting the cabin while holding his shell, "Do you feel the need for rest?"

"Can we talk for a sec?"

"Yes of course! Please come inside! Do not worry, your dragon shall not cause the ship to capsize or tip in one direction."

Hiccup gave Toothless a final scratch behind his ear -and entered the cabin. The smell of roasting plant slinked into his nostrils when he was underneath the doorway. He saw Decessus ignite a pile of herbs in a porcelain cup and then extinguish the match with his breath.

"Please, do seat yourself upon a cushion!" Ilias motioned to a large indigo cushion.

Hiccup eased himself into the massive pillow which was roughly larger than him and grunted when it swallowed his shape. "Ilias," he said as he tried to readjust his seat, "What is exactly the plan? And how do you know that this thing is real?"

"Ah yes, we do need to speak about the strategy. The first priority is the location of the former Green Death." The elder pulled out a large map and set it down on the miniature table that lay in the center of the cabin. He then twisted a knob underneath the hanging lantern that was suspended above the table and increased the light inside. "Where," he said pointing at the Arabic atlas, "would you estimate that the Green Death?"

"Uhh," Hiccup was not familiar with demonic scrawl but he was able to find some landmarks such as the Anglo-Saxon outpost and the island that his cousin discovered. "Well, I'm not sure."

"That is fine Hic-cough do not be discouraged! This," Ilias pointed at a small island in the North part of the chart, "is Berk. Could you estimate the distance from your home?"

"I," Hiccup sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, I can't. Only Toothless can do that. We never could find the dragon's nest and when we did it was because of Toothless."

"Deus, I knew we should have asked for a traveler's log!" Decessus cried out from behind the two. "Maybe if we go back-"

"We cannot, we have already outlived our visit with the Berkians. If we return, we shall raise suspicion and they shall have no faith in us. We must proceed. Hic-cough, are there any islets within our distance?"

Hiccup studied the map and said, "Yeah, there's one about two hours from here if we keep moving this way," he said guiding his finger northwest.

"Excellent, Decessus!" The mercenary stood up from his red pillow. "Please direct us four degrees starboard."

"O captain, my captain." He left the cabin to some unknown part of the ship.

"Hic-cough," Ilias, "Do you desire sleep now?"

"Yeah," he looked out the bronze window to his now napping dragon, "Toothless and I need the rest."

"Your dragon may rest on the bow of the ship. When the climate becomes colder your dragon shall need to hide somewhere else. But where he now lies is absolutely acceptable. You," waving his aged hands towards his entire body, "may sleep on one of the cushions or you may take a spot on the floor." Hiccup's eyebrows rose in disbelief but Ilias added, "I shall provide you a blanket and if you prefer to not sleep in a cushion, I shall also provide you a flat cushion for the floor."

"Thanks," Hiccup then exited the cabin for the fresh night air.

Toothless's body ebbed in some largo pulse, almost too slow to notice. Hiccup took a seat next to his friend and gently began to rub circles on his arrow shaped head. He purred and the vibrations ran through Hiccup's chest eliciting a chuckle from the boy. He gave his resting friend a hug and carefully stood up from his spot.

When he regained his center of balance, he walked to the stern of the ship marveling at the evening sky.

The moon that dangled from the heavens outstretched her long arms and draped the Earth in her night robe. The stars shone like thin gold and silver chains on her nighttime dress. Hiccup looked up to her pale face and wondered if he could touch those jewels and gems.

He finished his thoughts and proceeded to the back of the vessel and, to much of his discomfort, he saw Decessus operating something from behind a cabinet.

"Oh," the solider said without looking up from the object, "It's you."

"Yeah," he replied with a bit of disrespect, "What're you doing back here?"

"I'm just steering the ship."

Wary, Hiccup asked, "How does this move without any sails or oars?"

He sighed and stepped back from the cabinet. "This ship is unlike any other in the world. It was built with a special device and this," he said stepping back from the device which looked like a bashyball, "Guides it. This creates an invisible line that the ship follows."

"Hmm," Hiccup then approached the orb but Decessus held him back.

"You can look at it, but don't touch it. It's written in Greek," Hiccup realized what he meant. The sphere had numerous symbols on it that looked completely alien. "If you hear a click, you've done something to it. Don't try to be a man and undo what you've done." Hiccup slightly glared at him for the accusation, "You'll only make it worse. Just call me and I'll fix it."

Decessus left the boy and the device in silence. Hiccup approached the thing and began to examine it. He approached the cabinet that shielded it from the world and was completely in awe. The device was supported on a small pedestal of ivory. His face was dimly reflected in the bronze globe. The pale moon illuminated the few symbols he could see and he saw many little notches that were carved in with perfect symmetry and distance. Although he was advised against touching the machine, he held it in his hand. It was warm, probably from Decessus using the apparatus, but in an inhuman way. He remembered when he cut his hand and Toothless licked the wound. It filled his hand with a magical warmth. This, this thing had that same warmth but it was not nearly as sticky or affectionate.

He wondered what was inside such a thing. The pulleys and levers must be incredibly small! The inventor within him wanted to open it, play with its contents, and draw it so he too can replicate the device. But he eased away from the orb and closed the wooden cabinet.

Satisfied by his discovery, he decided to go back into the cabin and sleep.

Gently opening the cabin door, he found Decessus and Ilias in their own cushions and wrapped in their own blankets. He noticed that the lantern was extremely dim and repeated Ilias's motions. He twisted the knob underneath the hanging light and watched the flames from behind the metal and glass lantern die away. He found a blanket and a pillow next to a flat cushion where he once attempted to sit. He took the cushion, laid it out where the moonlight streamed in from the thin curtains, and laid his body down carefully. He admired the pale moon that snuck in through the drapery and carefully undone his prosthetic. He wrapped himself in the surprisingly soft blanket and his mind eased away on the pillow, which felt like a cloud tamed and domesticated for the purpose of sleeping on. In a state of bliss, he fell into a slumber.

* * *

"Hmm?" Hiccup rose up from the makeshift bed and looked around the cabin.

Decessus and Ilias were no longer within the cabin and he thought he heard alien voices underneath the boat. He attached the prosthetic and climbed up to scout the boat and where they were.

He opened the doorway and was greeted by blood red light peeking over the sea. But what surprised him was that the boat was floating but was somehow docked on a beach of pebbles.

"Good morning Hic-cough!" A large mass of white fabric said as it approached him. "We are at the islet you have specified. Let us descend from this vessel and set up a temporary camp. We must discuss how we are to find the island of the Green Death!" Ilias's face appeared from the floating heap of white cloth and then said, "Please take your dragon and have it roam freely for a moment, Decessus and I require the full space of the ship if we are to unpack efficiently."

Hiccup approached Toothless and began to coax him out of his sleep. Usually this would be an herculean feat but Toothless awoke with the first touch of his friend. He outstretched his leathery wings and let his tongue loll around before he gave Hiccup a "good morning" lick to the face.

"Thanks bud," Hiccup chuckled. They both left the boat and began to explore the islet, giving the two strangers time to unload and prepare for the next few days of voyaging.

The islet the four arrived at was nothing worth noting. It was about less than a day's travel from Berk and there were few trees and hills. His father said once that it was, "A nice camping ground and a terrible defensive position." Hiccup didn't understand the strategy that went into finding a defensive-anything but he agreed that it was an okay camping ground.

Toothless made sure to support Hiccup when his footing became unstable in the pebble beach and Hiccup gladly took the help. They both watched the colors of the sky become lighter and somehow Hiccup knew that the sunrise was about to take place. The duo accelerated to a spot where they could see the sun begin its ascent to the heavens.

The light gained intensity as the sun rose with every second. Then from red to orange to yellow, the process was complete and it was a new day.

Toothless loved these moments he spent with his little human. Over the years, he hated the sunrise and hated the things that rose with it: humans, other dragons, stupid birds that would screech in their own ugly tongues, but especially humans. In the night he was whatever he wanted to be. He could be merciful and simply observe, he could be ruthless and attack everything in sight, he could be a fool and go into the human stocks and have their strange intoxicant (but that was only once). He could be anything.

Yet in the daylight he was an outcast, a deviant, a demon.

"You okay bud?" Hiccup asked while rubbing a spot behind his ear.

At least he was someone's demon.

The duet finally returned to the boat after their "round-the-islet" marathon, which was surprisingly short. They saw Ilias hefting a scroll, a red carpet bag, and his shell in his arms while Decessus was carrying a small table and an unknown crate to the little woods.

"Hic-cough! Come with us! We shall serve you your morning meal!"

Hiccup guided Toothless to the small grove of trees that was a short distance from the boat. He and Toothless both sat down under a young fir tree and watched Decessus place a table in front of them. Ilias opened his pack and uncovered small metal tins on the table. Hiccup could already smell the weak smell of meats and other things.

"Go ahead Hic-cough! Please help yourself and for your dragon," Ilias said as he unwrapped a paper package on the table, "Here is some fish on behalf of your Viking friends."

Toothless licked his lips at the sight of the cod and gladly took it in his mouth.

"Hic-cough," Ilias said as he lifted the lid off of some dried fruit, "You stated that your people found the island of the Green Death because of your dragon, correct?"

"Yeah," he replied as he took a piece of cabbage marinated in some unidentified soup.

"Interesting, did Decessus tell you about the origins of the shells we use?" Slurping up the cabbage, he nodded in confirmation. "Then you are already two steps ahead of us! Good, excellent. Hic-cough, the reason why these shells function so well is because the magic imbued is in a higher concentration. It just so happens that the larger shells are also the ones that contain the highest potential for this magic. But there is a single type of shell that contains more magic per area than the average shell. It is called the 'Sero Angulus Calx.' You may know one of these as the 'Rosetta Stone' in Egypt." Hiccup only gave a look of confusion. "Right, you have never visited Egyptian lands. Anyway, the 'Sero Angulus Calx' was made of a black stone that adorned the base of the Tower of Babble and so a large majority lay within that part of the tower. We are very lucky to have such a stone with us."

Decessus laid down a crate and opened it carefully. The stone was as dark as Toothless's scales and shone like a jewel in the morning light.

"This stone," Ilias said while carefully picking it up, "Can be used to translate any language, so long as it is chronicled upon the stone."

"What is," Hiccup asked while inching towards the granite, "Leet speak?"

"Some ultra-modern gibberish that only the foolish use. But there is a greater purpose to the 'Sero' stone. This item can translate anything into a comprehensive and understandable native tongue. Anything," Ilias uttered underneath his breath.

"Like any language."

"Or any mode of speech between any living being! You said that your dragon knew the way to the Green Death, so we shall use our 'Sero' stone to translate the directions!"

At that moment, Toothless's ears perked up as he became aware of the conversation that was unfolding.

"Will it hurt?" Hiccup asked.

"I," Ilias began to stroke his beard in contemplation, "I am not sure! We never required the need to have conversations with animals before. I do not believe that this would harm your dragon, but now would be an excellent time to find out!"

At that point, Toothless's ears flattened and his eyes turned to thin dark slits. He gave the old man a deep growl and pounced into the tiny forest.

"Decessus! Take the stone and translate!"

The man looked at the large piece of granite that sat on the table. From Hiccup's point of view, it was roughly larger than a newborn child and possibly weighed three times as much.

"Are you going to help?" Decessus asked.

"We have yet to finish our morning meal. Do not worry we shall assist you in due time." Ilias said with a slight humor in his voice.

The mercenary sighed despairingly and picked up the stone and marched off into the thin forest.

"Should we, you know, help him?" Hiccup asked looking in the direction of the thin woods.

"Hic-cough! Now you have invoked the feeling of guilt and sadness within my being! Let us go after him." Ilias stood up from the coffee table and lead Hiccup into the woods. But then he ran back for a cup of coffee and then returned to Hiccup taking no time to explain himself or his actions.

* * *

"Decessus? Where are you?" Ilias called out in the forest still holding his shell and coffee cup.

"I'm over here," the two found Decessus holding the 'Sero' stone outwards in his hands as if it were a diseased infant.

"Where's Toothless?" Hiccup approached the man.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out for the past few minutes. Hiccup, call your dragon."

Hiccup tried to use the infamous high pitched whistle which would have his friend running to his spot in seconds, but to his surprise it failed to attract the dragon. He tried again, this time with a stronger breath and a longer sustain, but it failed again.

"Decessus!" Ilias cried out from behind, "There! The dragon!"

They both looked to where the aged hand pointed and saw a massive black cocoon hanging from a pine tree branch in the distance.

Decessus leapt towards the dragon while carrying the 'Sero' Stone. Toothless must have heard the mercenary because his ears straightened and his entire body outstretched from the branch. Toothless jumped from his hiding place and bounced behind a fairly large rock. Not to be eluded, Decessus followed suit with the piece of granite outstretched with his arms. Toothless then jumped atop the boulder and glided in the opposite direction of Decessus.

"The dragon!" Ilias frantically cried out, "It lies behind you!"

Decessus preformed an about face and faced the massive creature who playfully wagged his tail before climbing up a tree.

"Decessus! There behind-"

"Ilias shut up! I don't see it! And you yelling is not helpful! At all!" The mercenary scoured around the space: above his position, in the trees, behind him, around him. But he felt a strange heat underneath his extended arms and looked downwards. With his paws covering his head, Toothless attempted to hide right under Decessus's nose. The dragon opened a single eye and inched his head above the forest floor.

Exhaling, Decessus simply dropped the stone on top of Toothless's head and watch the stone split in half on his skull. The stone made a light thud on his head and then his head made a thud on the woodland floor.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out as he approached his possibly wounded dragon. "Why'd you do that?"

Decessus simply shrugged at the boy's question.

When Ilias arrived at the scene, he looked at Decessus, then at the dragon, then the stone, back to Decessus, and splashed his cup of steaming coffee in his face.

"Ahh! Deus!" Decessus began while wiping the hot beverage off his now red face, "What could possibly force you to do that?"

Ilias pointed at the stone and then reprimanded, "Allah save us, the stone is broken!"

"You old fool, magic does not disappear because the vessel is destroyed. Maybe the translation magic passed through the stone and to the dragon."

Ilias replied by throwing his metal cup at Decessus's gut and continued reprimanding him, "Magic does not necessarily pass the vessel if is broken!"

"How do you know if it hasn't?" He groaned massaging the possibly bruised area.

"Ooooo." A deep filling voice resonated from the dragon. "My head…stupid clementia…dropping big mystic things on me."

Everyone's jaws fell to the ground as they heard Toothless speak, clearly.

"Tooth," Hiccup stammered, "Toothless?"

"Hiccup? Hiccup!" The dragon leapt up from its position and began to lick the boy's face. "I was worried Hiccup! You might've been hurt!"

"Buddy," he tried to break from the affectionate licking, "What's going on?"

"Well it is fairly obvious," Ilias stepped forward, "Your dragon is now comprehendible."

"But, how?" Hiccup asked dumbly.

"Well magic has a strange ability to pass from object to object, much like a breeze of wind can pass from place to place. But if an obstacle is large enough, it can stop the effects of the magic. But the stronger the wind, the more it can affect with its power. The same postulate functions for magic: the stronger magic becomes, the more it can effect." Ilias then pointed to the now broken stone, "That magic has the properties of a God, not a specific God, but a God in general. No creature is stronger or greater than a God's magic, including dragons." Ilias then pointed to Toothless, "The magic has passed from the stone and onto your dragon. But, just as the wind, magic is fickle and free spirited. I am not sure how long the magic shall stay upon your dragon, but we must act soon."

"Can Toothless and I have a moment?"

"Well, it is much preferred that-"

"Alone?" Hiccup cut in, "I promise we'll be there. I just need a sec."

Ilias was about to speak but Decessus whispered something in Latin stopping his protests. They both picked up the pieces of the stone and began to exit the small forest. When Hiccup could no longer see the two he began to ask Toothless.

"Are you okay buddy?"

"Stupid clementia," he began to rub a spot on his skull. "I'm fine Hiccup."

"Oh Gods," Hiccup exhaled in anxiety, "I was worried that-"

"I'm fine," he said as he nuzzled the boy.

The two sat down and tried to regain their breath from the events that unfolded. "Toothless, how long does magic last on dragons?"

He gave a low hum and then said, "Not sure. Magic is weak on dragons. But Ilias is right, we are not above this kind of magic."

Hiccup thought about the implications and asked, "Do you think it will last?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Toothless said cocking his head to the side.

"Can I ask you something?"

"I guess now would be an excellent time."

"I uhh. Dang it! Now that I can talk you I don't know what to say." He fell to the grassy Earth and said, "Isn't that great?"

Toothless laid down with him and said, "There are no words for you and I. My human."

Hiccup relaxed underneath the now cloudy sun and accepted the warmth that emanated from his friend.

* * *

Ilias was pacing the shoreline madly in a circle while Decessus watched from the table that he had been forced to bring. But the elder's insane walking stopped abruptly causing him to wonder what caused such a change in moods.

He craned his head around and saw the reason: a boy with a prosthetic leg and a dragon with a mechanical tailfin.

Ilias skipped giddily for the two and clasped Hiccup's wrist in a wrinkly old chain of fingers. The trio then approached Decessus who had already opened the map and laid out some charcoal pencils.

"Now, Hic-cough." Ilias said facing the boy, "Ask your dragon where the island of the Green Death is."

"I'm right here," Toothless growled irritably.

"I apologize."

"Apology not accepted." Ilias was mildly shocked at his response but calmed himself down to continue the line of questions.

"Looking at this atlas, how far would you estimate that the island is?"

Toothless craned his head closer to analyze the chart and pointed at a small unmarked spot on the map with a bit of hesitance.

Decessus felt the uncertainty and asked, "Are you sure that's where it is?"

"On my life, that is where it is." Toothless snapped back.

"Then it is settled! Decessus begin reloading our ship; I shall begin to modify our coordinates. By these calculations," he said jubilantly, "We shall arrive at the Rage within three days!"

They began to repack and within a few minutes the ship heaved off of the pebbled beach.

Again, they sailed off for the hateful burning; but this time they had a dragon's guidance to take the path untaken. And that would make all the difference.

**A/N: Plus three coolness points for a Robert Frost reference! And plus ten awesome points for getting this in before midnight (Pacific Time). :D**

**So now things kinda picked up as far as action but it's still not "explosions, bloodshed, and fire ball casting" action yet. But Toothless can talk, but for how long and what will he say before time runs out? OOOOOO, internal and external character conflict! Maybe he'll talk about what a 'clementia' is and how it relates to Decessus. Maybe he'll have cool monologue like Ilias and Stoic. Or maybe he'll talk about his experience with alcohol (**_**I totally hinted at that somewhere and now I'm making it official**_**). **

**A big thank you to Spyden, xxHaleinaxx, and the anonymous Frostfear (if I gave you death then how shall you continue to read my stuff?) for their reviews! And also a big thank you to eliasdarklight and thehuman13 for responding to my poll with their opinions!**

**Rate, review, see my poll, and give me your thoughts!**


	7. The Second Pipe

**Disclaimer: the Characters of How to Train Your Dragon belong to Dreamworks**

**Everything else is by Travis Church**

When the boat had left the shore, Hiccup and Toothless began their ascent to the sky. In a swift organic motion, the two already were gliding over the ocean and slightly angling themselves upwards.

The forces of gravity began to pull down on the two but Toothless beat his wings even harder and Hiccup kept his hold on the saddle. Then the invisible weight disappeared when Toothless leveled himself with the horizon.

The light from the midday sun glowed beautifully on everything: the ocean, Toothless's scales, and even Hiccup's skin. The sky gathered bolls of clouds and tossed them about the blue canvas. Even the heavens looked like a perfectly painted rooftop, colored with the liveliest shades of navy and light sapphire imaginable.

But the best part of flying, in Hiccup's opinion, was being part of the living picture that was the sky. He and Toothless dashed in and out of clouds, making thin white trails behind them against the cerulean, and barrel rolled to twist the trails into stunning coils. He was part of something greater, he was part of the sky.

For Toothless, flying before he met Hiccup was nothing but a way to travel from point A to point B quickly; but now it was for his human. They danced atop the cloud tops and watched the sun melt like honey drops. In the sky, the sorrows, fears, and exhaustion fell into the sea. He even let out a gust of fire and watched the ball blossom as if exposure to the air was the key.

"Hiccup?" The rich bass voice surprised the boy and he looked down.

"What's up bud?"

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You and Decessus don't-"f

"Can we not talk about it?" Hiccup interrupted. The happiness that the two shared faded away into the clouds and a silent contempt could be felt radiating from the young Viking.

They flew in relative silence until Hiccup's stomach growled in hunger around noon time. Toothless sailed down to the craft. The young Viking could smell some charring scent in the air while Toothless could identify it as one thing: cod. The dragon began to descend slightly faster to appease his now growing appetite.

"Hello Hic-cough!" The voice of Ilias rang from the boat and to the heavens. Hiccup slightly winced at the call.

The two descended onto the boat and Hiccup carefully released himself from the riding gear. The young Viking could smell the fish and Toothless became jittery at the scent.

"Hic-cough, please come inside. We have your lunch and we also have something for your dragon." Hiccup was pulled into the little cabin and found the little indigo cushion trap that he was had the discomfort of sitting in last night. He moved past the fluffy snare and approached the spread of food in the center.

"Which one's Toothless's?" He asked after eyeing all the portions.

"Do not worry, Decessus shall hand something to your dragon. May I interest you in a cup of tea?" Hiccup nodded and watched Ilias pull from the floor a silver pot and a porcelain cup. Mesmerized, he watched the amber flow eagerly from the spout and into the little white vessel. "Hic-cough," he then handed the boy the steaming cup, "We must speak about how we are to stop the Rage."

"Right," he blew gently on the brim and sipped carefully.

"The Rage is unlike anything we have dealt with. The Rage has no face yet it makes a sound, the Rage has no stomach yet it swallows the unfortunate souls, the Rage has no body yet it has the ability to extend itself in any direction. There is only one truth we can fully ascertain from the Rage." Hiccup watched the elder curiously, "The Rage is a conundrum."

"Or it's a riddle." Hiccup smartly replied. There was a chortling behind him and he turned to see Decessus enter the cabin; hiding with a hand on what must have been a smile on that pale face.

"Yes, it is quite the riddle in its tactics." Hiccup sighed as the joke clearly was beyond Ilias; but he took some pleasure in the fact that he amused someone, specifically Decessus. "But regardless! We must strategize on how to tackle this beast. You and I both know that the Rage is capable of burning anything within thirty days worth of travel. Unfortunately, that would extend far past your village of Berk and as far as the Western Anglo-Saxon coasts. It would be a grave day indeed to see everything in between ablaze."

"So what do we do?" Decessus asked as he took his place at the table.

"We continue to travel, and according to your dragon, we shall arrive at the island in two and a half days. Then once as we see what the Rage is like, we shall tackle it head on and prevent it from unleashing the unholy wrath that it is capable of."

"To peace and to glory," Decessus held a cup of ale in his hand.

Ilias toasted and Hiccup gently clanked his tiny cup against the glass of ale and milk. He hoped that the Gods heard the toast and would grant him a favor against the Rage.

* * *

Dragons need to use the bathroom too, no mater how amazing are. They too were susceptible to the call of nature. Toothless cursed his bodily functions and tried to find a suitable place to urinate from. He walked, carefully to the back of the boat, and sat on his haunches before relieving himself into the ocean.

"Oh Gods yes," he crooned aloud. But he craned his neck around to see Decessus watching in horror at what was unfolding before him. A steady honey colored stream jutted upwards, so Decessus could see what was occurring, made a fabulous arch and descended downwards in a fantastic rain of urine. "What is it Clementia?"

Decessus was jolted out of his stupor before responding, "I haven't been called that in a long time."

"I haven't seen my human feel this terrible around a person in a long time." The mercenary was tfaken aback by the comment but continued along with his business.

"How do you know what I am dragon?" Decessus asked as he approached the cupboard.

"What are you doing in that thing?"

"Vos operor non refero mihi," he spat from the little armoire.

"You work to not cooperate with my Hiccup," Toothless hissed.

"I have had enough of you dragon," Decessus approached the Night Fury in his own fury.

"And the feeling is mutual Clementia."

Decessus walked away from Toothless to shut the cupboard and marched off in a furor.

Toothless felt some joy in his victory and wished to share the success with Hiccup. But, in reality, he simply wanted to get away from the merchant and the mercenary with his human.

He moved carefully to the bow of the ship and was surprised when he saw Hiccup sitting outside.

"Hiccup?" The Viking was caught off guard by the baritone rumbling.

"Hey buddy." Toothless walked over and sat alongside the boy.

Toothless extended one of his wings onto the little Viking and they sat in comfort of each other.

It was some time until Hiccup decided to ease away the silence with a question. "Toothless, what's a Clementia?"

One of his ears perked up at the word, "Why do ask?"

"I heard you call Decessus that about once or twice. I'm just curious." Toothless sighed and Hiccup immediately went on the defensive, "I mean as long as you want to! I don't want you to do something you're not comfortable with! It's not a curse or anything right?"

The dragon laughed and responded, "No, far from that Hiccup. Would you like to hear a story?"

Hiccup nodded and listened as his friend took a deep breath.

"Long before the dawn of civilization, man was a strange thing. You humans would roam the world in odd shaped packs and do savage things. Slowly man evolved but some force knew that man would not be able to progress fully until all man had the tools to emerge as himself. The dragons who told me this say that it was no God, but instead some collective group of advanced humans who had tapped into the Gods' magic. But I won't bore you with that origin story." Hiccup opened his mouth in protest but Toothless continued, "This creator traveled the world monitoring you mortals and your traits. When it was satisfied with the knowledge it collected, it spread this information in a great gust of wind. But some people took on more knowledge than others; they had within them a great humanistic character within them. They had exceptional intelligence and insight about specific humanistic characteristics. Fear, joy, pestilence, survival, greed, name any idea that is associated with you humans and there is a person endowed with that ability out there. But they are separated by land, seas, and geography. To avoid the death of the intelligence, it passes on from generation to generation. The gust of knowledge bursts from their dying breath to find another person, and so the knowledge passes as the world turns." Hiccup was slightly confused by the explanation, "Do you require examples? Caligula: bloodlust. Ibn Battuta: exploration. Qin Shi Huang: construction."

"So these Clementias are just ideas in a human form?"

"'To a degree, yes."

"Then what is Decessus?"

Toothless sighed carefully and said, "His name is Latin and from what I know, Decessus means death."

Hiccup paled and croaked out, "He knows how to kill people?"

"Not necessarily, it only means that he possibly knows something about death that you and I don't. I stress the word possibly because I don't know if he is the Clementia of death. I know he is a Clementia because he reeks of high magic. But he just might happen to be the Clementia of addiction or misery. Only he can reveal his power."

The Viking remained in deep thought about what Toothless just said. If Decessus knows something then what was it? Was it death? And why would Ilias choose Decessus to come with him? If fate was able to set up the future: what is a future that involved a merchant, a person who knew some secret about death, his dragon, and himself? Inwardly, Hiccup hoped that Decessus's secret knowledge of death would not be put to the test.

* * *

It was now midnight and by some luck or favor from the Gods, they caught a strong wind and the boat was jettisoned on a strong current. According to Ilias, they were ahead by two hours and would be at the island in possibly less than two days if the winds and currents keep up.

Hiccup and Ilias had been long asleep when the moon was high and bright, but there were two figures still awake in the darkness.

Toothless unable to sleep, he focused on the world around him by honing his senses. He heard the water splash quietly on the boat, he saw the tiniest glimmer in the night sky, and he smelled something burning. He rose from the silence and treaded softly to the stern.

His ears flattened and he glared at the sight before him: Decessus was smoking a pipe of opium.

"Evening dragon," the mercenary said as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Clementia," Toothless barely acknowledged the man.

"Magic," he said before taking in another breath of smoke, "Never worked on dragons. I never believed it could work. First time for anything right?" He finished his tangent with another exhalation.

Toothless only eyed the man as he continued with his senseless oration.

"I can tell you, what happened to you was luck. I know it. And lady luck is a strange mistress. Beware a woman who only comes to you when you are winning," he let the words die away with the smoke.

"What are you?"

"A Greek first, a Clementia second, a mercenary third."

"No," Toothless growled, "What is your skill? What is your power? What are you capable of!" He roared into the silence of night.

The silence over took the words, Toothless was left with a shell of a man and he knew that there was no point in talking with him any longer.

"Death," the man said as he took the pipe away from his lips, "Is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."

"A witty saying proves nothing." Toothless whispered and while striding away, "He, who trains his tongue to quote the learned sages, will be known far and wide as a smart ass."

As Decessus emptied the chars into the seas from his pipe, he said to himself, "At least you and I are smart."

* * *

The second day came and passed in moments. It could be defined actually as this: breakfast, flying, lunch, flying, dinner, flying, sleeping in the boat.

The current that had taken the explorers unfortunately disappeared behind them, but they still had the two hour advantage they gained.

By the third day, Hiccup noticed something odd about Toothless. He seemed less aware, less active, less in touch with the present. Although it did not alter his flying, it did cause a bit of a problem when the two would try to carry a conversation.

Dusk inched closer and the island remained out of sight, which worried Ilias, but when the two descended to the boat for dinner Toothless assured the elder that they were almost there.

"I do hope you are correct dragon," Ilias said worriedly before following Decessus and Hiccup into the boat cabin.

Hiccup and Decessus began to take portions and awaited Ilias to take his seat. Once as they did, they began their meal.

"Hiccup," Decessus asked without even touching his food, "Do you remember what the Rage looks like?"

"Not exactly, I mean I had the gist of what it looked like."

"Hmm," Decessus looked at Ilias before going on. "I wish we did know something. 'A creature with no legs but it flies as fast as an eagle!'" The mercenary said in a falsetto to imitate Ilias's voice.

Although the impersonation received a short laugh from Hiccup, Ilias was not pleased. "I am certain that what you have described is impossible. The Rage cannot fly and it requires no legs." Hiccup and Decessus looked at each other before sighing at the merchant's lack of humor.

"Can you pass the tea?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, not tonight young Hic-cough." Ilias stated.

"Why?"

"A person dreams when they are tired, I have read that from a treatise on the mind, and dreams are a connection to the beyond."

"Which beyond?" The Viking boy asked.

"Beyond the sword, beyond a reasonable doubt, and to infinity and beyond!" The elder stood up with the last statement. "But beyond the human plane of limitations. Gods exist in this plane if they wish it to be, but beyond that is a universe that Gods live within. If you are truly entwined with fate, fate shall come to you from this outer plane and give you something about the Rage. You must tap into that universe," and with grave tone while pointing at the boy with a withered finger, "You must not drink tea."

Something about that statement told Hiccup that Ilias should not be taken seriously right now, but he abandoned the need for tea and asked for some of the pomegranate juice instead.

After the food had been eaten the table was cleared and all dirty dishes were set outside and in its place Ilias set down a massive blank piece of paper.

"Hic-cough," Ilias began, "Would you care to draw a basic diagram of the island? From a bird's eye view if you would be so kind."

He was handed a pen and an inkwell and with some effort he drew a rough image of the island. He drew the volcano crater, the beaches, the large rocks that dotted the waters around it, and a compass rose to top it all off.

Decessus did not wait for the cool air to dry the quickly conceived map before he began to edit the map. He took the pen from Hiccup's hand and began to draw lines, dashes, and odd shapes all over the blank space before he paused to ask a few questions.

"Hiccup, is there any place where we can go inside the volcano?"

"Yeah, right here," he pointed to an area on the southeastern side of the volcano.

"Okay, so what I'm thinking is that if the Rage is an army of something," he pointed to a set of X's on the map, "We need to draw it out and invade the volcano for the master. If the Rage is a creature, which I would suspect is of leviathan proportions, we need to use this path," he said pointing to a trail of dashes, "So your dragon can trail behind it and search for any weak points. And if the Rage is a demigod or demon, we need to get it out into the open so Ilias and I can some of the special nullification magic that I've picked up over the years."

"Hic-cough, we will continue to travel for two hours and then we shall establish visual silence. No lights, no movement, nothing. We must continue to keep the element of surprise, if such an element is still possible, and give ourselves every advantage possible. Are you prepared for tomorrow?"

"Now or never right?"

"Excellent, now is there anything you would like to ask?"

"Yeah, can you look at Toothless, something doesn't seem right."

"What seems to be wrong with your dragon?"

"He isn't responding as quickly when I'm talking to him and he seems a little sluggish today."

"I told you Ilias," Decessus chimed in.

"Told you what?" Hiccup quickly asked.

"Well, magic does not function very well on dragons because they have a field so to speak that blocks it. It is comparable to a shield or a piece of armor. It has been said that dragons are not necessarily immune to the powers of magic but instead are able to withstand the affects by diminishing them. We are not sure what diminishes these effects, possibly some magic that has been on their person at birth or some biological trait, but we are sure that a thinning power is at play. A spell that causes sleep would work on a dragon, but the effects are so minute that it appears to not have worked. The translation magic is very powerful, especially from the Sero stone, but it has been reduced on application to your dragon."

"So he's fine?"

"Yes," Ilias said turning down the light from the hanging lantern slightly. "The magic is simply wearing away. You should cherish the last few moments of speech you will ever have with your dragon."

With that, Hiccup left the room and approached his friend. For the next hour, Hiccup had the best, and without a doubt the slowest, conversation in his life.

Yet the sun set onto the waters, the familiar purring replaced Toothless's filling bass voice. Toothless's eyes sharpened and he let out a few gusts of fire in rage. There were so many things he wanted to tell him, so many things he wanted to say, so little time. But Hiccup did not care; he gave his friend a hug and told him to go to sleep now. The Night Fury obeyed and gave a light rumbling sound before he began to rest.

The darkness began to encroach the sky, blooming as a bulb of nighttime and flourishing as a dark navy lotus. The moon glowed brighter and brighter calling the stars to stand alongside her. The sight was spectacular.

Hiccup went to the back of the ship and saw Decessus sitting on the edge of the boat with a smoky halo around his head.

"Evening Hiccup," the mercenary quietly said.

"Can I ask you something?"

He exhaled and said, "Sure."

Hiccup took a seat next to Decessus and said, "Do you hate Berk?"

The man took a deep breath, without his pipe and began. "Berk is cold, and smells odd, and has quite possibly the most violent and drunken people I have ever seen. But Berk has forests, Berk has an ocean view, Berk has that view of a sunrise that isn't compromised by buildings or monuments. Berk reminds me of my home." He paused for a moment, "I was exiled and forced into a civilization that I did not belong to. Forced to work for a man who was not my neighbor, forced to fight men who were my neighbors, and forced to do watch a man live in splendor while his neighbors lived in squalor." He sighed deeply and took a breath of his pipe, which to Hiccup smelt strangely pleasant. "And then I found my gift, and I killed that man in his own home, with his own blade, with his own hand." He laughed for a moment, "I gave myself a new name, left my master to be eaten alive, and left his estate to be robbed and pillaged for all it was worth. Then I came back to my home. But a house is not a home without someone to call it your own. So I left it and began to take up violent jobs in Constantinople. It had decent pay, a not-so-decent clientele, and a steady stream of orders." He set the pipe down in the space that separated him from the young Viking. "Sometimes I dream about that home, that place that was mine and only mine. Sometimes I wake up and smell the grasses and trees that were around my home. And sometimes I taste the fruit that I would pick from those trees when I wake up. But I cry, I cry for that place that is no longer there, and I take my fist and slam it against the wall, and weep for the things that were. I pray that what was taken from me: the people, the family, the community. I pray that it is in a better place now. I know death. Death is my inheritance. I wish death would take me so I could be with what is now gone." Hiccup thought that he saw a tear form in the pale light. "And when I came here with Ilias, it was like a dream! A god dammed dream. It brought me back to that place, that place I wish for, and made me want it back. And if we get out of this mess," he looked to the sky, "I'm taking back whatever is left and I'll make it mine once again."

Hiccup watched as he took a final breath of the light scented material. This man, he was broken, but he could be fixed. One day he would be fixed.

"Want some?" He offered the sweet-smelling pipe to the Viking. "It's not opium, it's a mix of tobacco and berries. It isn't very popular right now, but sometimes popularity means nothing."

He took it and analyzed it. There was a lit portion, a chamber with a bit of water, and another chamber with miscellaneous things inside it. The metal pipe rested in both his palms, the object glistening in the fresh moonlight. He looked over to the mercenary, who looked at him expectantly and eagerly. Graciousness and friendliness appear as odd gestures sometimes. So he inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, taking in the aromatic flavors of some berries, fruit, and some other sweets.

"Impressive, would you like some more?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Hiccup stood up from his seat and handed the pipe back, "Good night Decessus."

"Good night."

He left the man to his thoughts and proceeded to bed. The image of Decessus before floated away like the smoke he just exhaled and this new Decessus was left like the sweet taste that lingered on his tongue.

**A/N: Whoohoo! I'm done! Took me a week and a totally unrelated writing piece, but I'm done! YAAY! :D**

**So that concludes part two of ****The Strangers****, there's only one part left and it's the action part! Explosions, fire ball casting, and flight scenes galore! If you've read this far, you're going to be in for a big surprise about the Rage!**

**So, no I didn't work in Toothless having some exposure to alcohol but I did get him to pee off the stern (which is cool I guess). Hiccup is a really good first time smoker. And Decessus is by far the most complicated character I've ever written. God look at that monologue! It's, according to my word counting thing, 439 words long! JEEZ DECESSUS, calm down with your feelings!**

**But anyway, I really want to thank marmelada for coming aboard the crazy train and I want to thank SkyHighFan, Pterodactyl, Kara Crane, meggie6, Windsofdrams, and Alana-kittychan for all faving or putting on alert ****An Offer of Proof****.**

**Rate, review, and more importantly give me your thoughts on Decessus's monologue. Did it move too quickly? Was it too long? Was it bad? Or was it just right? Tell me!**


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